Seven Steps to Happiness
by lioness007
Summary: The line between best of friends and lovers is one easily crossed. Sometimes those who cross the line don’t realize what it is that they have done. A Jak x human Daxter story. AU
1. The Most Important Meal

I do not own the Jak and Daxter franchise. I only wrote this for fun and non-profit purposes.

There is a homosexual relationship in the story. If this offends you please do not read. Though in this chapter it is only hinted at. I have not written before so my continuing this will depend on how I feel my skills measure out. Please do comment. I am not a naturally confident person so encouragement would be very much appreciated.

My thanks.

* * *

The door creaked loudly as it was opened slowly. Daxter jumped down from Jak's shoulder heading into the single room bachelor apartment. "Jeez, ever feel we're entering a horror film here Jackie boy. Honestly"

There was a low grunt for Jak's acknowledgment of Daxter's voice but he hadn't really heard what the ottsel had said. The twin sized bed in the corner of the room protested loudly when Jak fell atop it. Daxter shook his head hands on his hips. "What would you do without me."

Daxter went over to the door pushing it till it closed. He gave a swift kick with his foot making the cheap lock fall and land in place as always. He then went over to Jak's prone form and started undoing the bootstraps.

It took awhile but with a great heave that landed him nearly all the way across the small room he managed to get the boots off. The boots were left where they landed as Daxter bounded back onto the squeaky bed. Predictably it squeaked with the jump.

Daxter looked at Jak who was already passed out on his stomach. Daxter jumped up and down causing the bed to violently protest. "Roll over Jak."

He was grunting and sounded like a cranky teenager who wanted to sleep in. He finally flipped onto his back and Daxter started undoing more of the many, many belts. "Jeez, one day Jackie boy you're going to… guh really, err, have to... do this... yourself."

Five belts later Jak was officially beltless and that took all but nearly all the poor little ottsel's strength. Going to the pant line Daxter gripped the tucked in hem of Jak's shirt and started pulling it over the blonde's head. "Come on, lift. Even one arm would be a great help here."

That would be far too much to ask of Jak though. Shirt off and tossed onto cheap bedpost Gloves and goggles came next and were handled with more care then the rest of the discarded mess. Daxter always saved the hardest part for last. The damn skintight clingy pants of unremovable doom. He sighed heavily looking though he had to climb a mountain as he undid button and zipper and hoped back off the bed where Jak's legs dangled off the side.

Rubbing his hands together and doing a small stretch before grasping the bottom hems of the pants, Daxter braced his feet on the bed and heaved.

Maybe an inch. All his might. Half an inch. Twisting around so he was practically nose to nose with the dirty floor as he stood horizontally over it. Three good inches more. Daxter dropped the pants collapsing to the floor panting. "Just a little more and we're good. Jeez Jak, do you glue those on in the morning or what?"

Back on the bed he took the waist hem and managed to wiggle them off. "Okay that only took like two years of my life. New resolution, tomorrow you can undress yourself!"

There was a light snore as Jak shuffled further on the bed and onto his side. Daxter rolled his eyes shaking his head. "Who am I kidding. Alright big baby under the covers, least ya get a cold. If you get one I'll probably have one soon after.

Tucked in warm, relative safety and Daxter turned off the lights. There would be no waking Jak till either nightmares or morning. Daxter yawned heavily chest low to the ground and tail arching up over his head in a stretch. He needed some shuteye too. Unfortunately Jak was always so busy during the day that their dung heap of an apartment never got cleaned. Yet somehow always remained livable, and the reason for that was not the magical cleaning fairies but Daxter staying up a couple extra hours every night to make sure things were ready when they got up.

Only little things really. Check the food; see if they were running low on anything. Check Jak's guns; clean them out check for sand or anything else that might clog the sensitive weaponry. Wake Jak out of any nightmare. If the floor was getting rather brown clean it to show it's supposed to be white. Clean the cloths. Check the radio police radio for a quiet night. Get the coffee ready for Jak n the morning, pack the lunches.

Just little things.

He was exhausted; things were a lot easier when it was just himself he had to look after.

Daxter shook his head and gave himself a slap over the cheek for thinking that and wandered back over to the bed. He frowned as guilt clawed its nasty fingers through him as he saw Jak was having another nightmare.

"…n't touch me… go…"

Daxter got onto the bed gently, so softly even the rickety bed said nothing of his approach. His ears pinned back he looked at the tightened fists clinging childishly at the blankets though they could hide him from darkness. Eyes darting beneath closed lids, frantic movements of deeply rooted terror. Daxter went up to him, eyes closed he pushed his face against the underside of Jak's chin.

"It's okay buddy. Nothings gonna hurt you like that again. I'll keep you safe."

A callused hand snaked up and gripped his tail. It moved up roughing up Daxter's fur the wrong way as it did. The hand was so much larger the ottsel that when it found the skinny part between chest and hips it could nearly wrap completely around. "Dax."

Curling up tight against his friend Daxter dug his tail between the groove of Jak's chest and the bed. "It's me. Get some more sleep, still early."

There was a slight squeeze at his waist that didn't let up. Daxter used to find this comical, great hero to be scared of the dark. Now though, he realized the terror instilled in his friend was his fault, whatever put the fear in Jak, Daxter felt was his fault. His tiny hands pinned down his ears though he could physically block out the accusing voices that told the coward just how badly he failed.

Tears welling up he rubbed his eyes, not willing to cry. Nuzzling against Jak he wished to the precursors that at least there would be one day that Jak's pain would finally go away.


	2. Apple a Day

Though it was early, the sun shining, the birds (pigeons more like it) were chirping, and the bright promises of a day were before them. Daxter hated mornings.

It was because he hated morning that he was surprised when he'd been allowed to sleep through a great dream where he'd been the huge crazy monkey that climbed towers all day. "Left foot right foot I suppose."

With the experience he felt better able to climb the hard to manage and often broken down buildings in Haven City. He yawned and gave a mighty stench curling over the arch in Jak's ribcage. Jak was giving off a lot of heat and Daxter was enjoying it immensely.

That and the fact Jak never slept in.

Daxter felt quite content to lay back and catch a few more hours sleep before calling it morning. His left ear though, it gave an unease twitch. His tail thumped lightly, Daxter rolled over atop Jak willing himself to ignore whatever his body wanted to tell him for rest. Both ears twitch like sonar and there was a noise his mind brought to the forefront of his conscious thoughts.

It was a very strange wheezing rumble sound. Eyes cracking open his ears pinned forward he was easily able to tell the sound was coming from beneath him. Lying low, Daxter pressed an ear against Jak's chest listening intently, as he was now fully awake.

"Buddy, you don't sound to good. It's all like... flemmy gross sounding in there."

There was a sharp jerk and intake of breath on Jak's part as he was thrown into a violent coughing spell. Daxter flinched backward falling right off the small bed. He waited, ears back eyes just barely peeking over the edge of the bed as Jak's body rocked violently with cough spasms.

When it was done Daxter timidly got back on the bed. "Hey Jackie boy? How we doing?"

Jak was trying to pull himself into a sitting position. One arm flailing out, his weight shifting as he hunched over like a tired old man. His face was pale but his cheeks were flushed red, not to mention his nose was getting red and runny looking.

"Oh Jackie, you got a cold. How in the name of the precursors did you get that? I got you changed and tucked you in all warm everynight. How in the blazes…"

One idea came to mind, then two. "I got to make a phone call Jackie boy. Hang tight."

Hoping down from the bed Daxter wandered across the room to the simple dial tone telephone. He dialed Keira's number but there was no answer at the shop. Foot tapping, tail swaying he wrapped around he possibilities before calling Tess at the bar. No answer. Daxter sighed, he was right. He knew where Jak caught the cold but he felt he should check to be real sure.

He dialed Keira's home phone, it rang and rang and finally Tess picked up.

Daxter's tail swayed and thumped hard on the floor. "Tess baby, it's Orange lightening. I take it Keira's sick?"

He listened to Tess explain how just plain miserable Keira looked and it was real hard to keep her from crawling out the door to work. "I hear you loud and clear Baby Cakes. Jak's got the same thing. Keira must have picked it up from one of her clientele and then gave it to Jackie boy. Guess we both got our work cut out for us. You need anything, food, support, especially some furry nose to nose comfort call me up baby and you'll see exactly why they call me the Orange Lightening."

She thanked him profusely but stated that she should be okay with taking care of Keira. They hung up and Daxter stood there for a moment hand still lying atop the phone. He picked it up again and dialed Torn.

The gruff voice that answered did nothing for Daxter's mood. "Tattooed wonder, it's Daxter."

There was no recognition, only annoyance on Torn's part. Daxter refrained from growling, as he had to resort to name calling. "Jak's rat, yeah that's it. Listen you should check the ink on those tattoos cause I think it's squeezed into your brain. You can find someone else to do you're half assed planned mission cause we're taking' a couple of days to ourselves."

There was a lot of yelling, Daxter had a very uninterested look as he had a very bored look, then checked his nails. "Yeah, right. Burn in hell, got it. By the way can you send some money our way tattooed wonder? We're running on short over here."

There was a dial tone and Daxter looked at the phone, positively perplexed. "He hung up on me?"

Daxter hung up the phone positively miffed as he headed back to Jak. "That has to be the absolute rudest man on the face of this whole Precursor cursed planet. What do you think Ja… oh… eww."

Jak moved over the side of the bed though about to run for the washroom. But he didn't make it as he began throwing up on the floor. Daxter shuddered but scampered forward. Next to Jak he pretended he neither smelt nor noticed a thing. "There, there buddy. Feel better to get that out? Keira's got the same thing you do. Tess is taking care of her. You think you can get to the washroom?"

Jak nodded, feeling hopelessly embarrassed and weak by the whole situation. His head was pounding though a rogue metal head was trying to eat out his brain. "Go take a shower, freshen up big guy. I'll take care of this and get some clean sheets. Turn up the heater, make you some soup from scratch, none of that instant crap for my buddy."

Daxter gave Jak a truly sympathetic look as he patted his best friend's knee. Wishing even more now then ever he was human again so he could help more. "Hang in there."

Jak looked down, staring at the ottsel for a stretched out moment before a weak but very rare and genuine smile crept onto his face. "Thank you. Daxter."


	3. Balancing Act

He had to pull a Jak, stealing a zoomer so he could be faster. He had, fortunately, been fast enough to pick up a few supplies at the pharmacy for Jak and some fresh food. He made fresh yakow soup with the ingredients. He sniffed it ears twitching at the sound of the broth bubble and lightly froth.

Smelt perfect and he licked his lips. As he worked he couldn't help but keep wishing to be human. He hissed between clenched teeth as the metal pot scorched his hand when he could barely lift the soup with the serving spoon. He did manage it though. One phone book at a time he managed his way off the counter top bringing the soup with him.

He pushed it onto the bedside table and jumped onto the bed.

* * *

"Oh god Jak we're gonna die! Let me take the wheel! Please buddy you've got no clue what you're doing!"

The blond pointedly ignored Daxter as he was having far too much fun for his first time out of prison. He felt alive with the freedom he possessed. And Daxter, despite being ready to strangle the life out of Jak made the freed man feel safe. Though he was now, somehow untouchable and invincible. That he could do anything.

He hadn't felt like that since he lost his friend. He wasn't letting go of either one, he would stay free, and Daxter would be with him forever.

"Oh god no Jak that's the accelerator!"

* * *

"Hey Jak? Come on, wakey wakey big guy. Got some hot grub for your stomach."

The voice that called was one he didn't want to ignore, but it was hard. He was so very tired, but the voice persisted dragging him out of his dreams. Daxter helped Jak sit up and use a pillow as a tray so e could eat. Daxter went to the TV Daxter had found, in someone's trash, and turned it on. It had been broken when they first brought it in but a little gentle tuning got the thing running again.

Daxter preferred the comedies but today was going to be Jak's day so he kept flipping channels till he found an action explosion movie, which Daxter really didn't mind so long as there was a hot babe in it. His smile covered his whole face as the next channel had a bunch of skinny big-breasted babes in a gym shower. "Wow! Hello, if this don't put some life in you Jak you're dead to the world."

Daxter did the throaty animal purr he would do when turned on, while his tail lashed to and fro against the slick floor. "Who knew day time TV could have this and… oh my god Jak! There, sweet mother of mercy we've got lesbian action! Where's the recorder button? Do we have a tape in? Crap!"

Though Daxter would not notice it Jak laughed softly from the bed as he watched his friend scramble and slid around the floor though his tail was on fire. He looked up at the television and the huge pair of breasts bouncing around, he decided they could not be real. Jak tilted his head examining it, they were kind of interesting he guessed, what with whole they could be so bouncy. Yet he still didn't see what Daxter found so enticing about the whole breast deal. Daxter found and hit the record button.

There was a loud fleshy slap and both Jak and Daxter went owl eyed and slack jawed as the taller woman began spanking the smaller, causing the breasts to bounce quite vividly. Daxter's ears pinned back with a toothy grin, "oh yeah baby! Someone was a naughty girl apparently."

Jak however looked horrified, like a kid worried his parent's might walk in any second. "Dax! Turn it off!"

Daxter's tail was swaying so fast it looked ready to either pop off or become a propeller. "But Jak babe! It's…"

He looked at his friend and shook his head, and turned off the recorder changing the channel. A battle hardened warrior showed up. Guns blazing and his perfect hair billowing as fire and explosions raged all around. Daxter frowned but one look at Jak told him this was what the blond wanted to watch.

Daxter rolled his eyes. The warrior's shirt mysteriously vanished and his hardened body gripped the massive guns in sweaty palms. "You do realize Jak that this is just a different versions of what we were just watching?"

Jak hadn't heard him. Engrossed in the none existent plot line as the camera angles worked to show the actor's incredible physic. Before coming to Haven City, Daxter had never even knew two guys could hook up as anything but friends. Then through channel surfing he learned, yes it was possible, yes it looked painful, and no it wasn't uncommon in the overcrowded city. Daxter didn't have experience in such stuff but he'd have to be blind ten times over not to notice that the very look on Jak's face at the moment was one the girls, not even Keira, ever got.

No, that was the lustful expression Daxter knew himself to have when staring down the globes of a low hanging tube top. There wasn't even a single decent looking girl in the movie so far. Just boys. With a sigh Daxter went back over to the bed and jumped up atop the covers with a yawn, dropping the remote near Jak's hand. "Night Jak, I'm calling it in early. Didn't sleep well last night."

Jak was pulled out of the movie to look down at the form of his curled up best friend. "Don't you want to see?"

Daxter gave a wave of his hand. "Is okay. I'd really rather get some shuteye. Night big guy."

* * *

Pouring over the old maps Torn hunches with the small lamplight updating the maps and memorizing new safe house locations. He stopped for a moment rubbing in a circular motion. A warm glass of yakow milk was put out in front of him. He looked over at the scruffy dark haired guard with a questioning gaze. The rebel shrugged, "mother used to say it was good for whatever ails you."

Torn shook his head but took the glass. "Thanks Trick."

The dark skinned rebel looked over the maps that Torn had been working on. I can finish this you know. You need to get sleep or you're no good to the resistance."

Drinking most of the milk in a single guzzle, Torn wiped what was on his mouth away with the back of his hand. "And you?"

Trick grinned, showing a missing side tooth from getting butted with the back of a rifle too many times. "Oh I sleep. I sleep eyes open."

Torn gave a very feint smile. "Thought you looked a little off whenever I was giving a speech. I need to finish this up. But there is another favor you could do."

Torn instantly had Trick's full attention as the ex-krimzon guard looked to an envelope on the table. "One of our best men has caught that virus going around the city. The money is an advance for the supplies he'll need to keep up on to live. Delivering it to his place would ease up my work."

Trick was grinning like a cat and Torn knew he should have just stuck to basic details. "Oh, you do so have a soft side. I've known you for too long not to see it peek its shy little head out every now and again."

Torn glared in what he meant to be harsh but it never came out harsh when directed at Trick. "Keep that up and you'll get a knife up where the sun don't shine, Trick."

Trick gave a throaty sound that annoyingly reminded Torn a lot of Jak's pet rat. In his moment's distraction he hadn't seen Trick move so close. "Is that a threat or a promise commander?"

Torn flushed and shook his head looked away. "No Trick. You know the answer."

Defeated, Trick's shoulder's slumped but temporarily as he picked up the beat again. "Can't blame a guy for trying. By the way sir, you might want to head to bed now."

Torn frowned about to sit back down at his desk as Trick made for hovering around the exit of the underground. "And why is that Trick?"

"Cause I put sleeper herb in that milk. Nighty night and sweet dreams, you got about seven more minutes!"

Trick flew out the door dodging the thrown knife. The door hissed closed behind him and Torn started to feel the drowsy effects. He'd fallen for the same trick, by Trick since they first met in the krimzon guards.

Strangely enough, Torn hoped he'd never get wise to it.

* * *

It was early afternoon by the time Jak woke up. He stretched out his bedsore limbs and rolled out of the bed. His body felt much relieved to be out of the bed as he dropped down to the floor doing a few sets of lunges and push-ups. He felt completely better.

With a smile he looked to the bed where Daxter was still sleeping. He walked over to the edge of the bed crouching down and resting his chin on the edge of the mattress. Daxter was sound asleep, leg occasionally kicking out and a muffled purr as he dreamt. Daxter had always come through for him.

But Jak, for all the precursor orbs in Haven City, couldn't figure out why that was. After all, Jak's one promise to turn Daxter back to human still hadn't been fulfilled. Yet Daxter had kept every promise he'd ever made to Jak. Tilting his head as he examined the sleeping ottsel Jak wondered what Daxter would look like as a human.

Would he be the same as when he got pushed into the dark eco or would he have grown the years he was stuck in the ottsel body? Would he have finally lost those baby buckteeth, how long was his hair going to be?

Large eyes opened and slowly blinked as Daxter saw Jak looking at him. He yawned, "morning big guy."

Jak's smile grew as he waved off the ottsel's morning breath, figuring he didn't smell so great either. Though Daxter knew he should be getting up there was a tired ache all over his minuscule body that made it hard to move. He sniffed back a bit of a runny nose.

Eyes wide and now awake, "oh no. I caught your… ah… ahh… acchhhooo!"

Jak ducked under the side of the mattress to avoid the ottsel germs flying by. He peeked back up, concerned as Daxter rubbed his nose. "Oh I feel like I just got vomited out by some acid spewing metal head."

Jak reached out and gave Dax an assuring one-handed shoulder rub. "I'll get some medicine for you Dax. Hey! I'll make us both breakfast."

Though Jak seemed real happy about the idea, Daxter wasn't so sure of Jak's cooking. Sometimes Jak was a great cook, totally unbelievable, but others, for some unexplained reason he would cook and cause smoke alarms from several apartments down to be set off.

"It's okay Jak. I'm not hungry. I would take you up on the painkiller offer though."

Unmoving from being sprawled out on the bed Daxter looked down as he contemplated the situation. "Hate to admit it, but you'll probably be better off finding child's strength or some animal meds for me."

* * *

There was a light rain that would have made Daxter complain but Jak did not mind it, he enjoyed the water. The streets were only marginally crowded; he spotted the krimzon guards and grinned almost vicious. A dark bolt of energy shot between his fingers.

Promptly Jak closed his eyes, and shook off the feeling. His body had too much dark eco stored up. It made him quicker for a fight, but strangely as Daxter had once pointed out it wasn't necessarily aggression. It was more of unbridled burst of energy that needed an outlet. Fighting was a fast easy way of letting out energy, so was racing. The anger issues he had were due to him being wrongfully imprisoned and tortured for two years.

The guards spotted him; the two guards and Jak were staring each other down. His fingers edged into a loose fist, attack or let them be. He was going to let it be the guards call. One guard elbowed the other and Jak just barely heard what he said. "Not him. No orange rat."

"But it is him."

It was unmistakable in the damp air, the small wind that carried the smell of sweat. They were afraid, so terrified Jak could even smell it on them. They knew who he was. They knew they should call him in, they knew if they did, they would die.

The guards walked past; pressed to the wall but unwilling to fully turn cheek. Jak looked down at his hand. He didn't know how to feel. After a moment, he decided he didn't like it. He didn't like being feared like this, he wanted to go back to Sandover and just forget everything.

The anger inside him surged, breaking him out of his old self and burning a rage back into him. He changed his mind, as his teeth clenched together. He didn't want to forget, what he wanted was to make those at fault pay. They would die slowly; they would feel the fear, the pain, the anguish and humiliation he felt for two years.

His anger started to burn hotter as his hand gripped the handle of his morph gun and he eyed the backs of the krimzon guards. Daxter's voice spoke up in his mind, 'You got to chill out. You got to chill out.' Small paws gripped the side of his face so their noses were touching. 'You. Have. Got. To. Chill. Out. Sorry for repeating it so many times but what if I'm not there to keep you on the level? You need me to keep from flying off the handle and shooting out krimzon guards for no other reason then PDJ. Pre-Dark-Jak."

Jak took a deep slow breath. Eyes closed he tilted his head up enjoying the rain. 'That's right Jak. Chill out big guy, deep breaths.'

Even now he still heard Daxter's voice. The small red head from Sandover was very much a part of him. Even when physically apart.

His grip on the morph gun loosened then finally released. Jak opened his eyes; his blond hair slicked back and plastered against his neck. His dark blue eyes looked out back to the street. He eyed the hovercrafts going by till he spotted a zoomer. It was his least favorite type, pale color and very boring in appearance, but it had the same kick the better zoomers had.

He did want to hurry. So he decided not to wait for a nicer color, rather he opted to run forward. Bound up high enough to grasp the metal underbelly cable of the zoomer. He spun and kicked the citizen out of the zoomer landing gracefully in the warm seat. By the time the citizen even realized what had just happened Jak was already break neck speed several turns away.

* * *

Author Note: I'm holding on to the next chapter till I receive reviews for my work. I'll keep working on the story. I simply won't post anything till I know people actually read this. 


	4. Sniffle

Author Note: Thank you all very much for the reviews and encouragement.

To Aunt Rackie, thank you for pointing out any that the characters were ooc. I truly did not mean for that to happen and with your comments in mind I reread the posted chapters and understood your point. I will strive harder to keep the characters true to their personality. The comment regarding Jak's sexuality was especially helpful, Dax-sexual.

Thank you all

* * *

He took a deep sniffle. His nose was runny, his brain felt like fried mush and he had no one left to complain to which was the absolute worst. His eyes felt heavy as he spared a weak glance over to the bedside table where Jak's left over pain meds were. He wondered if he broke the pills into thirds if they'd be ottsel friendly, he wondered if Jak even had the money for specialized animal meds. 

His eyes itched but if he closed them they burned. He shivered lightly under the wind of the humming fan above him. But his body felt though it had been chewed up and spit out, his joints felt old and his back and tail felt bruised. His ears fluttered lightly with the wind of the fan, they seemed the only part of him able to move. Even his tail was too sore to twitch.

He was so cold. He wished Jak would get back and fix him something warm to drink. His ears stiffened and pushed forward. His tail abruptly standing rigid. The ottsel in him became panicked, he wanted to lay still but some part of him wouldn't have it. He was forced up to his feet and scampering off the bed only to end up hiding under it.

He heard footsteps and absently smiled that Jak was back.

The ottsel wouldn't have it, leaving him shivering under the bed. It was like he was a back seat driver with great influence, instinct in his ottsel mind told him to be afraid. The footsteps sounded heaver then Jak's usual light step.

The cheap lock shattered as a steel plate boot kicked and splintered open the wood door. Heavily armed and armored crimson guards spilled into the room. Daxter flinched back, heart hammering as the guards filled the tiny apartment and washroom.

His throat itched as he huddled down against the dusty floor. A man, smaller then most of the guards but still taller then Jak stepped into the room. "Commander Erol. There is no sign of the fugitive, sir."

Erol lifted his hand to his nose as he looked over the room in disgust. "Check over everything. There must be something of value in this sty."

Daxter flinched back covering his nose and mouth as a sneeze snuck up on him. Muffled by his hands the sound was meek. Erol stopped and shifted his feet around. Daxter kept his hands over his mouth hoping against hope no one heard.

Gunfire broke out; the bed moved violently as the bullets tore through it. He scrambled out from under the bed, barely missing being ottsel Swiss cheese.

"Block the door!"

A wall of gunfire rained in front of the door as Daxter skidded to a stop to avoid it. He scampered in spot against the slippery floor for just a moment as he made for an escape. But even a moment was too long. A heavy boot kicked down over the length of his tail causing the same amount of pain as a finger getting slammed in on a heavy door. He coiled back biting the boot instinctively but uselessly. The boot stayed in place, pressing down with more weight causing Daxter to wail and pull as an animal hoping to abruptly lose it's limb in return for freedom. A firm, gloved hand gripped his ears and pulled him off the ground. He thrashed in pain against the hold trying to break free.

"It's the rat."

Saving his pride Daxter forced himself to ignore the pain, no matter how hard and cross his small arms to glare at Erol. "That's Mr. Rat to you, you sleaze bag. Let go of me already before I sic Jak on your ass!"

Erol only smiled viciously lifted Daxter up to eye level. "But the fugitive doesn't appear to be nearby. Couldn't be on assignment, he'd never leave without his loud little pet now would he."

Daxter looked away, eyes set in expression that told Erol he would get more information asking to the discarded underwear on the floor then Daxter. Erol threw Daxter to his subordinate. "Take it with us. We might be able to get something useful from it."

The hand that held him swallowed up most of his whole body, ears pinned back nothing would stop Daxter from having the last word. "Who you calling an it, you level none racer!"

Daxter wasn't aware he was hit but there was a great pain before the wall knocked him out into darkness.

* * *

To say he was at a loss from what to get Dax would have been putting it kindly. In the bazaar merchants were selling everything from hoverboard parts to yakow hearts. Strangely enough everyone also seemed to think his or her merchandise was a cure all for any ailment. 

There was a light press of something small to his back.

"Freeze, evil renegade."

He jumped, hand grasping for his gun as he spun only to see Keira laughing. "Hi Jak. Sorry, I couldn't resist. You feeling better?"

His hand pulled away from the gun though it had burned him. Jak shook his head, but then realized he was supposed to nod and did so zealously. Keira laughed at the childishness. "Jak, you should just say if you're well or not. Tess told me you caught my cold."

Dark blue eyes cast over to the nearest merchant stand before looking back at Keira. "It wasn't your fault."

Keira leaned her weight onto one leg as she put a hand to her curvaceous hips. "I wasn't saying it was. I had the nasty thing longer then you did. I think I got it from one of my clients. A number of them have been passing colds around."

Jak fidgeted with his hands, as he had to fight his glances from running along Keira's toned belly and strong hips. If Keira noticed she didn't let it on. "What are you here for Jak? You've never struck me as the shopping type."

He snapped up the distraction, "Dax got sick."

Keira covered her mouth as she gasped in a mournful expression "Oh no that's terrible. Poor little guy, it's so strange because I noticed something different about you but I didn't realize what till you pointed it out. I thought you just got a hair cut or something."

Jak shook his head as he started fidgeting absently with a cut on the back of his arm. He felt strange with Keira, embarrassed. Though she'd filled out into a woman she really hadn't changed, she was Keira from Sandover. When he saw Keira he remembered the past, not the laughter or adventures but he could see the younger him staring back at the twisted version he'd become.

He could see the younger, innocent him staring back at him in Keira's eyes because that's how she saw him. In her heart was the belief that returning to Sandover would solve everything. Where she believed they would be exactly as they were before the horror of Haven City.

"Would you like some help then Jak? I'm sure the two of us could find the perfect medicine. That is why you're here right? Medicine for Daxter?"

Jak nodded but nearly flinched back as Keira took his hand. She smiled pretending not to notice as she held his hand firmly. "Okay we'll find him only the best. And I'll get you the best price for it!"

* * *

Jak fished though the paper bag with the herbs in it. Daxter would have a choice if he wanted all natural green gunk or chemical smelling artificial grape liquid. He absent-mindedly reached for the doorknob as he kept inspecting the contents of the bag. But his hand met with empty air. 

Jak looked up to see what was wrong was there was no door.

"I do apologize for that one Jak. The unit got a little carried away."

That voice sent a cold chill into his neck.

* * *

_He was cold, so very, very cold. He'd thrashed and fought the uncaring guards as they dragged him out from under the stained cot inside his cell._

_Then he'd been strapped down, ankles and wrists to a foul smelling table. Then he was left alone. He didn't know for how long but it felt like a long time. He could only struggle in vain against the bonds staring at the mechanical lights flashing on the machines surrounding him. Machines like he'd never seen before._

_The worst was the arms of the machine. A huge three-pronged needle was staring down at his throat as viciously as a predatory bird. No emotion, just waiting for a move, a command._

_There were the footsteps. The distant ones that approached slowly. They were in no rush._

_That was when Jak had learned the name of the person who would become one of his most hated enemies._

* * *

"Erol!" 

The commander smiled, perfect smile of the race champion. "It's so nice to hear you still speaking Jak. It took so long to rain you out of your little self-imposed muteness. But enough pleasantries we have…"

The dark eco stored up in his blood burned at the thin tissue of his skin. Flesh stated turning pale as the eco flooded to the surface of the skin. The tight pressure in his skull, the dark horns were starting to protrude. His body flooded with energy, with need.

Erol looked unimpressed by the beast staring him down. "Kill me, do it if you dare. But know that somewhere in Haven City, your dear little rat will be literally skinned alive and that soft fur sold in auction."

The dark eco surged through his veins. His back was arched and muscles tensed but his mind held his body with a strained lead. "What is it you want?"

Erol's smile grew with thin snake lips over white fangs. "Just a trade."

* * *

Torn was woken by an insistent knocking at his door. The clock informed him it was well past noon and that he'd almost slept a whole day. 

The knocked increased. "Sir? This is real urgent sir!"

He got out of bed ruffling over his hair, cursing Trick for giving him the chance to sleep in so late. Usually he would have been woken up earlier by the scruffy brunette. "Sir! Captain Trikoski is missing!"

The door slammed open so fast it hit the underground informative square in the nose. "What did you say?"

The informant was on the floor, hand covering a badly bruised nose muttering how unappreciated he was as he got up. "Captain Trikoski is missing. He signed out on errand seven hours ago. Was seen last six hours ago in the slums, but never did a check in with anyone after. Furthermore, the apartment where the Eco Warrior sleeps was ransacked only a few hours ago."

The collar of the informant's shirt was seized up by Torn. "Specify what you mean by 'few'? Was Jak caught?"

He struggled to speak as he tried to loosen the grip on his shirt. "We don't know how long sir, four hours at most, one and a half at least. The, Eco Warrior wasn't caught but his pet was and we think Erol might have spoken to him. But I don't know anything more sir!"

Torn released the informant, his mind racing with what to do. "We need to take out Trick. If he's been caught they'll be bleeding him for every scrap of information he knows. He needs to be rescued or shot to prevent the underground from being exposed any further. Start arranging for new safe houses. Trick knows of all the old ones. We need to move out people. Shit, Trick knows all our people…"

Mind made up he went to start calling up the best agents. "Top priority is Trick."

Hesitantly the informant spoke up. "But, what about the Eco Warrior?"

Torn waved the comment off. "Hopefully whatever he'll get up to will be enough of a distraction to make getting Trick easier."

* * *

Author Note: This was the most difficult chapter to write because I have been constantly second guessing myself. I really hope the characters seemed believable this time around. I have always seen Dax as having a deep-rooted guilt for Jak, which is why I have the mother hen type. Dax would not do the things he does for Jak for anyone else. Jak is just special. 

But I am a new author. Please tell me how I'm doing to better improve. If characters are still ooc please help me improve. Or if you just really enjoy it but don't know what to say just good, or yay, or it was cute. I really appreciate it.

I'll post the next chapter after receiving a couple new reviews.

Thank you.


	5. Two Wrongs and a Right

_He knew that look, eyes narrowed in an almost angry expression but a toothy grin that said he was anything but angry. Daxter followed Jak's gaze seeing one of the krimzon guard zoomers. "Oh hell no Jak! You are not convincing me to hot-wire that thing! We'll have every city guard within sight anywhere we go on our tails because we will be waving a big red flag in front of them, literally."_

_"But I want it Daxter. And we're going to get it."_

_Daxter felt an odd tingle run down his back at Jak's even more husky then usual tone. His tail held unusually still as he looked away from the zoomer to Jak. "Ah… Sure big guy. I'll juice it up you keep the guard off my tail._

_What an odd feeling that had been._

_Later, Daxter finally managed to talk Jak into changing the color. It was a cheap spray paint job that Daxter did himself so they wouldn't stand out like a bullseye every time they were on the street with it. But, Jak didn't like it so much after that. Apparently the whole reason he liked it so much was it was red._

_No more red, no more love. Talk about mood swings, shesh._

* * *

He woke with an even worse headache then the one he remembered falling asleep with. That was until he realized he didn't remember falling asleep. His head hurt horribly, though Jak was inside ramming zoomers against his skull.

"Tell Erol the rat's awake."

He was really unappreciative of the nickname. A finger entered his range of vision and he did the first thing a trapped ottsel would do.

He bit it, hard. The man yelled pulling back his hand. Daxter though, despite being rammed against a tiny cage door held his grip with the jaw strength only an animal or metal head could posses. Both he and the cage was lifted from the table as the man tried to pull him off.

There was a spray of blood and the cage clattered to the floor. The man was screaming loudly as Erol wiped the bloody knife and re-sheathed it. "Imbecile, it was your trigger finger too. Report to the first aid station and then to the training course. You'll have to learn to fire a weapon with your left hand."

Daxter spit out the finger. Horrified as he looked down at the appendage. He went as far back as the miniscule cage would allow away. The cage was hoisted from the ground by a handle on the top and came face to face with Erol.

Daxter felt a sneeze coming, he made sure it was as messy as possible, all over the commanders face. The cage was dropped on reflex. It left Daxter grinning. The cage was picked up roughly and Erol began walking with fast heavy footsteps. A heavy bolted door was the target. Daxter flinched back at the sight of the floor inside the room being covered with dark eco.

"This will be the most painful moment of your miserable little life rat. There's enough dark eco in there to overload the dark eco freak's system. So you can imagine what it will do to you while you wait for him to rescue you."

That was all the warning he got as the cage was thrown inside. They kept the door open to watch as the cage splashed into the few inches of eco. It wasn't deep, under a foot, but in the small cage there was no where to go, no way to escape it.

He screamed as he scrambled as a trapped animal uselessly in the trap. It was the most unmanly sound he'd ever made but it felt ten times worse then salt rubbed deep into a fresh wound. He flew frantically around the cage in search of a weak bar, a way out. He bit the metal bars, clawed, kicked, the eco completely coated him as oil spills to birds.

Erol laughed in genuine amusement, finding the way Daxter scrambled around uselessly quite amusing. He was the child who lit his crocadog's collar on fire to see what it would do. He signaled the door to be closed, even so it only muffled the screams inside. "Stay on the radio. Alert me to any change."

* * *

Coming up with new safe houses was not easy. It wasn't as if he could go out and rent new apartment complexes. First off the underground didn't have that kind of funding, second they had to be sure the entire neighborhood was disloyal to the Baron or the safe houses wouldn't be safe.

"Torn! Where's the kid."

Unexpected visits by door hostile agents didn't help. Though the underground HQ door tried to open for Jak, it wasn't moving fast enough for the blond. So he hit it head on with the scatter gun. Small bits of bolts clamored down the stairs and rolled by Torn's feet.

"What the hell do you have against doors?!"

Jak barely smirked still holding onto the morph gun in scatter mode. "A lot, when they keep me from something I want. Now where's that kid?"

Torn knew it was better not to play dumb, Jak would only persist. Besides, what other kid but the possible heir to the throne would Jak be talking about. "Why do you need him?"

"Erol has Dax. He'll trade Dax for the kid."

Torn could see his life try to flash by his closed eyes as he knew Jak might very well kill him for his answer. "No. The trade isn't worth it. The underground understands the rat means a lot to you Jak but if the Baron decides to kill the kid then it's over for us."

Jak felt the trigger warm from the heat from his hands, his fingers tightened against the gun wanting to pull and shoot something. Metal head or human it didn't matter so much at the moment.

"Yet somehow Ashelin was? Don't give me that crap Torn. You sold out the underground when Ashelin was in danger of being killed. Imagine what Erol will do to Daxter, best friend of his ex-prisoner. Ashelin's death would have been quick, Daxter… he won't give that to Dax."

White knuckled from his grip on the morph gun it changed to blaster mode with the laser aimed at Torn's head. "If it's not the kid then you. You've got to mean something to Erol. I just want Daxter back, I don't care whose getting traded for it."

Torn shock his head rolling his eyes. "You can really be a dumb shit sometimes Jak. You're giving me the option to die here or die in prison? The rat has a big mouth but at least he thought things through."

Torn sighed as Jak's intense eyes didn't let up. "Listen, you know Erol is a double crossing back stabbing bastard, but he's smart as hell. He'll take all he can get from you and then kill Daxter and probably find a way to kill you too. One of our agents was captured. Our side is in scrambles trying to reorganize. Go with the team heading for the prison. That's the most likely spot they're keeping Daxter."

Jak's trigger finger didn't release for a long moment before he holstered the gun. "I'll do it."

Jak looked to the floor and then the maps. "That's the first time you've called him by name."

Danger of being shot point blank gone Torn started perusing the scattered papers on the desk again. "I never said I liked the rat, I don't. But he's useful."

Torn looked up at Jak face, he doubted it was always there but there was a dark violet that would flash by the blue of his eyes. An anger, so deep, so intense that it burned into the air around him. But the rat, Daxter. When Jak was getting bad the stupid rat would start pulling off tricks and making ridiculous and childish faces. Torn had once been ready to throw a knife at him to make him cut it out.

But then there was a sound he'd never heard before. Laughter. It was quiet, but so unlike Jak as Torn knew him. Daxter was the only one who could, or would even attempt to do such dumb stunts to get the trigger happy warrior to laugh. "He's useful because he keeps you from flying off the handle and pulling stunts like barging down safe house doors. Now on top of everything else I have to reissue a door. Yeah, thanks a lot for that one Jak."

Torn scowled deeply, hating the feeling of emotional air. "What the hell are you waiting for? You even got a damn invitation, go get your damn rat."

* * *

It wasn't a hiss but it wasn't a growl either, a deep throated sound of such rage and fury. He'd remembered he'd heard that sound, from someone else. But no one, nothing, nothing at all mattered now but himself.

How dare they? How dare they! Lock him in a cage like some pitiful beast. How could they leave him in here. To die? No, not to die. They wouldn't care if he did but that wasn't their reason. Amber eyes were narrowed as he was staring intently at the closed door. His tail swayed in slow delicate swipes over the dark eco surrounding him. It hurt like the pain received when finding out with a surprise that a limb had fallen asleep. Not nearly as bad as it had been.

He looked down at his arms, the orange fur had almost completely receded from his so very pale limbs but stayed over the tail and crept along his spine. His head hair had thickened and lengthened but now his face was as bald as his arms and legs. His ears pressed forward and back, he had to be clever. He didn't posses the strength to break out the heavy door.

His body and hair was unnaturally white, he had a feeling it was from the eco. Chin up he grinned, tail arching to tap the back of his skull. A grated vent hung above the door on the ceiling. A few hours ago he would have had neither the strength to even consider pulling the grate loose nor would he have had the height.

Bare feet squished through the dark eco, which felt like he was walking barefoot over a floor of slugs. Through the metamorphosis he had regained a lot of his human appearance but the eco had picked and chose the many of the ottsel's muscles to be enlarged with the body. It gave him unique movement, sprinting, jumping and scampering abilities.

Using the power stashed in his legs he jumped and clawed fingertips gripped and pulled at the vent. He wrestled with it, throwing his weight around. The vent groaned, buckled and finally fell. He discarded the vent cover and jumped back up tail lashing about with excitement.

Freedom and safety, that's what he wanted now. Everything else would come but he scrambled around the tight squeeze vents. He sniffed at every turn as he searched for any smell of fresh air.

* * *

Author's quick note: For the dark eco transformation with Daxter I imagined the dark eco would try to 'host' itself onto the ottsel instincts, which are more primary. The dark eco with Daxter will have a different effect on Dax then Jak because for Daxter it would have two sets of genetics to work from, human and ottsel. As for the funny faces comment that Dax would make to Jak, I had the characters in Jak II standing still and they did perform a number of funny animations (including one where Dax gives an annoyed Jak fleas.)

Please tell me what you think and if the characters are in character. I can only reread a chapter so many times before it just becomes a blur. Thank you to Ryn and Aunt Rackie for he continued support and comments.

This is very important from this point to receive comments as this was as far as I had planned the story. Ideas on what should come next, anything at all will be most appreciated. I really am feeling a bit of a loss on what should happen next. The scene where Dax and Jak met is done but beyond that… Is it okay for an author to ask advice like this?


	6. Mutual Comfort

He froze, ears stained to hear any noise. But it was a smell. Musky, a man, gunpowder, strong, machine grease, capable, familiarity, safety. He kept going through the vents. He had to find the safety. He froze again, ears pressed down eyes narrowed. Voices, the dark eco controlled Daxter wondered if he'd been heard. 

Light flared around him and the thunderous sound of gunfire punctured his hiding spot. He fell, or more accurately the vent fell, he was just stuck inside. With how long he felt the surge of falling he guessed he was higher off the ground then what he'd originally thought.

He hit the ground hard, the metal curbed up on impact but because he was braced out the worst impact went to his ankles which were forced to bare the blunt. More gunshots, he scrambled out of the vent, but he was stuck. The impact had caused the vent to dent in around his body.

Fear struck and the dark eco in his blood surged to answer that fear. Claws ripped the metal like paper his tail lashed around denting out the metal. He got free and scrambled on all four to flee the smell of gunpowder and charred metal.

But there it was again, the familiar smell. It was such a deep feeling of familiarity that it couldn't be ignored.

There was no safer place in the world.

He saw him; yes the man was very familiar. A feeling of safety was overwhelming. He ran forward to the startled man leaping to get to his shoulders. The man stumbled to his knees, the shoulders were very awkward, and his legs and tail kicked around the man's torso trying to get on. His hands pulling at the blond hair. 

The smell reached deep into him; this man was a core part of him. But he couldn't figure out how in the world he'd managed to fit on the man's shoulders before.

* * *

The whole team was tense. Jak didn't bother to restrain himself as a snarl and pulse of dark eco flashed over his skin. Jak barely trusted the men Torn sent him with; they looked as ready as the KG to shoot him. They didn't trust him and he couldn't trust his back to them, but they needed each other to get deeper into the prison. 

Jak was deep in thought when one of the men jerked to look up at the vents a good three stories above them. "Di.. did you guys here that?"

They had their guns to the vents. Someone, who Jak would have shot if he knew whom, opened fire at the vents. Then the two other rookies opened fire, leaving the three veterans, Jak, the team leader and the main tank, to get the rookies to shut their guns up. 

By the time the gunfire had ceased there was an ominous metal groan from above. All six of those present wore identical expressions as they watched the vents slowly begin to buckle. Then, with a grinding metal noise plenty loud enough to alert any KG guards who hadn't already heard the gunfire, the vent broke and fell.

Jak winced as it hit with enough force to make the ground shake. He'd had it; he'd have more security travelling in the centre of a pack of half starved metal heads. 

"Metal head!"

One of the rookies opened fire on the vent; something was struggling to get out of the dented metal. Jak's morph gun entered scatter mode as claws ripped through the metal sheets. A figure tore loose, a human figure, well, a human figure with a tail, a red head. He had the gun trained and it was a split moment of consciousness that Jak realised he wasn't pulling the trigger. There was no instinct blindingly pulling him to kill, no voices screaming in his ear. 

The red head was coming straight at him; his trigger finger didn't so much as have an inclination to twitch. Orange blond hair at the roots that extended to a sunrise red, freckles decorating both face and body. Jak would not, would never shoot, and as he dropped the gun, he realised why.

"Daxter?"

Daxter then pounced the startled Jak who stumbled with the weight. Bare legs struggled around Jak and the blond realised a very naked Daxter was trying to fit onto his shoulders. Well, almost naked, there were the goggles and gloves…

Panic filled him as Jak heard the cocking of guns and knew that the others were preparing to fire on Daxter. Jak scrambled backward, Daxter still feverantly trying to get onto his shoulders. Jak had the smaller body of the red head pressed safely between his own solid frame and the metal wall. "Don't shoot him! Any of you fire I'll kill you!"

Pent up dark eco surged with an animalistic howl to the men. Daxter stilled, but watched him while quietly hanging to his back. The dark eco wanted release but Jak forced it back again, he needed to stay himself to protect Daxter. Something was wrong with his best friend and he needed to think, dark Jak wasn't about thinking he was about instinct.

The men for the team pulled back, the team leader gave a hand signal to the others. They left both Jak and Daxter alone while they continued their own mission objective. 

Jak worked to steady himself before slowly turning around. Daxter's dark blue eyes, identical to Jak's own, watched him, but for some reason it felt hollow to Jak. "Daxter, it's you, right?"

There was no response. Jak reached out, very slowly to touch the freckled face he hadn't seen in so very long. Daxter watched the hand, and raised the corner of his lip showing his teeth to Jak in warning. Jak pulled his hand back unsure of what to do. After a long moment of nothing Daxter tried once again to get onto Jak's shoulders. "No, Dax, you're too big and… clothes…less."

Though, clothesless, wasn't a real word it was all Jak could really think to say as he looked at the completely unabashed red head. Two years wandering the streets of Haven City had put some muscle on Daxter but it was lean, and never so apparent how starved he had been. Jak shrugged loose from his dark tunic pulling it over Daxter's head. The red head was eyeing him though he was the weird one but allowed the small courtesy of Jak putting the tunic on him.

It wasn't long enough but at least it was something. Jak looked around and went back for his morph gun. There was a tug and slight pull from behind as he walked. He looked back to see Daxter had gripped the back of his belt and was holding it firm, like the end of a leash. The feeling of the weight was reassuring to him; very similar to the weight he'd been missing on his shoulder. Yet somehow, it was lighter. Not physically but somehow Jak felt a heavy weight of guilt be replaced by something lighter.

The only people Jak could think of that could help were either Samos or Onin.

* * *

"Take a nap?"

It seemed, anticlimactic to say the least. Inside Onin's tent Daxter was still acting strangely and had yet to say a single word, which by itself meant the red head was asleep or dead. Jak was adapting to the new weight that was almost constantly applied to his belt as Daxter had taken to gripping it. Currently though, Daxter was posed on the ground, ears tipping to and fro as he eyed Pecker. Mentally debating if he was looking at a possible threat or lunch.

"Onin says that rat boy is pulling a dark Jak on us, but not exactly. The dark eco began to physically change the rat back to his old human self but apparently decided that some rat traits were to the advantage of it's host. Dark eco is very tricky; it is like a semi-conscious virus or leech. It knows it it's host dies it too will die. So it reverts to the most basic instincts of the mind while physically altering its host. For you the dark eco invokes a fight response, in the rat…"

Pecker glared at the encroaching Daxter. In a swift abrupt move his wings spread wide as he squawked at the top of his lungs. A terrified wide-eyed Daxter fled and dove behind Jak gripping the belt. "In the rat it is a flight response. Where you would attack, he would run. Dark eco would not care how it survives only that it does. So, a nice relaxing nap will set things straight. The rat is just running on eco fumes so to say. This isn't a full dark eco transformation but rather a traumatised rat trying to hide. My guess is whatever turned him half way back to being human was terrifying, traumatic and quite possibly very painful. So, he ran away in the only way he could."

Pecker tapped his own skull indicating the brain. Jak looked down over the back of his shoulder at the narrowed blue eyes glaring bravely, from behind Jak, at Pecker. "But we can't go back to our place. It isn't safe."

"Onin says for you to use our… What! Are you crazy you old woman? How could you think such a ridiculous thing?"

Onin's hands clapped together her face set in a stern glare to Pecker. "Fine. Onin says you can rest at our home. But don't think we won't know if you touch anything! We will, really, because you can see it just outside the tent. Two doors down to your right."

Jak left Daxter barely a step behind him. They turned to go right when a vicious squawk stopped them. "I said 'your' right you complete nincompoopery! Your right when I was speaking to you is your current left! Must I draw you a map?"

Daxter's ears pinned back with an annoyed look back to the tent. And Jak realised though he'd prefer it; he didn't need words to understand Daxter. "Come on Dax, lets have a mid day cat nap."

* * *

Author's note: wow, that was so not easy to write but I am very glad I did. I have more of an idea where the story will go now though I still don't have a clear ending hopefully it will come along to me as the plot continues. 

To Ryn; yes, there will be smooches later but I have to make sure the kiss comes at a believable moment. As for the tail, it's probably coming off later unless I get a lot of people wanting it to stay. It's because Daxter really didn't just get changed back to human, more of the dark eco seeing benefits with human ottsel combined. For a full human Dax I'm going to have to get a little more clever, because I'm still not 100 sure on how that would happen. 

Nicend; thank you for the idea and the review. I definitely see Jak as being revenge oriented.

Aunt Rackie; I'm glad you like how I write Torn, I hope it's because he's in character because that's what I strive for. As for Daxter and the guy's finger, I actually had meant Erol to be the one to cut it off because the whole scene was hindering, noisy and a waste of time to the task oriented Erol. I'll try harder to make my scenes more clear in the future.

Thank you for the reviews and please continue to do so because support is really important. If I hadn't received so many than I don't think I would have been able to pull through this chapter. Don't worry the next chapter is already partially written and there is some nice 'friendly' snuggling, that I hope will remain n character. As always thank you for any help or suggestions you can give, and don't hesitate to point out ideas for what can happen in future chapters.


	7. Past Mets Present

_He hated the rain. The sound of its drumming, the way it would wash through the air, but above all of it he hated how cold it made him. Dark blue eyes didn't hide the falling tears but the pouring rain did mask them. It wasn't fair, he did as his mother said, he smiled, he smiled when it was that last thing he wanted to do. He smiled when all it ever did was make the other kids laugh at him._

_His mother had promised him a better life when they left his father in the middle of the night. His father had been passed out on the broken sofa. Daxter remembered his mother's eyes were dark. The last fight had been the worst and that's when she said they were leaving. _

_The people in their new home were as bad as the last place, and the place before that. They treated her badly and saw him as something worse. Daxter cried to the sand dunes by the beach overlooking the sea. There was so much horrible pain, deep inside, something no bruise would show or blood would flow from but a wound was there. _

_He sobbed harder, the sound heightening though he could rival the thunder of the storm. _

_Then there was a small presence, a delicate tap to his shoulder. Daxter flinched as he fell over in his hurry to turn around. A blond boy was on his hands and knees in the sand beside him. When Daxter flinched so did he, but when Daxter showed fear the boy shook his head holding his hands out palms open to show he meant no harm. Daxter rubbed his freckled nose as he glared at the boy. "What do you want?"_

_The boy with very dark blue eyes shook his head. Daxter watched his eyes, he didn't say anything but the small gestures with his face and hands were enough. 'Why are you crying?'_

_Daxter wiped at his face in a futile gesture because of the rain. "Because life stinks! My life sucks! My dad sucks, my mom sucks, I hate it!"_

_The strange boy's eyes were downcast; brow furrowed in concern with lips slightly parted catching rain. 'Don't say that.'_

"_I can say what I want! And why don't you say something? Why are you giving me the silent treatment? Too good to talk to the fatherless buck tooth freckle freak?"_

_He flinched back so violently Daxter himself had to question if he had struck the blond but he knew he didn't. The blond boy shook his head and with one hand and sad eyes he grasped his throat. That same hand unclasped and reclasped, sad eyes and a sound that Daxter wasn't even sure he heard. "You can't talk, hu?"_

_The boy shook his head confirming Daxter's guess. The red head stood giving a more appraising look to the blond. He was cute looking; quick to lose all the baby fat on his face that Daxter still possessed. Daxter let himself smile at the boy; "you're sure strange. Why are you out here in this.' His arms opened though reading to embrace the rain. 'I hate the rain, and the cold."_

_The blond boy smiled brightly shaking his head as he closed his eyes tilting his head to the sky. 'I love the rain.'_

_When he opened his eyes his smile fell when he saw the small red head had his arms crossed and was shivering. He stood and broke the distance between them. The red head's eyes were still brimmed with tears as he tried to hide the pain inside with a smile. The blond was over a head taller then the red head so it was easy for him, to lean close. To softly put his chin atop the smaller boy's head, to wrap his arms around the frail shoulders and block out the rain._

_They waited, and stayed like that. The blond loving the rain took every drop and sheltered Daxter in his arms. Daxter stopped shaking, eventually becoming warm by the blonde's heat. Daxter chuckled, startling the blond. "I should know my personal umbrella's name. Just, write it in the sand."_

'_Jak.'_

* * *

It was like old times again, the way they both fit together as two halves of something long ago broken. Jak lay mostly on his side, chin nestled overtop Daxter's head. One arm pinned under the waist of the red head the other was loosely draped atop him. Daxter lay contently warm, the feeling of safety that he loved surrounding him. He was safe, warm and could not be happier.

* * *

Author Note: I solved the dilemma of Daxter's tail. Jak gets horns and pale skin; Daxter gets a bit of fur and a tail. Apparently Pecker lied in the last chapter about Daxter not being in full eco transformation, bad Pecker! So when Jak transforms he goes with horns, when Dax transforms he goes with tail.

As for the flashback, I went through a library psyche book on personalities. Dax really does fit the book's description for traumatic childhood which is often hidden by sarcasm and rarity to take matters seriously so they themselves don't have to deal with their own trauma as being trauma. But tell me what you think please, I can do all the research but if no one believes it's a useless gesture on my part. I am trying very hard to get the characters in character.


	8. Forgotten Words

It wasn't a bird and it sure as hell wasn't a train or zoomer. Jak grunted as a hand came out and smacked his nose, apparently mistaking it for an alarm clock. He swatted the hand back to its owner and slowly shuffled himself onto his side and went back to sleep.

Daxter fumbled around, with his eyes still closed he searched for a pillow to cover his ears from that annoying ringing. Finding nothing he blearily opened his eyes. Jak was sound asleep in his boxers which put Daxter at ease. If there was anything dangerous Jak would have been up for it. Daxter scratched his scalp roughly before stretching like a lazy ottsel with a wide yawn.

He started moving around the bed on all four looking for what the noise was. He found Jak's pants and started rummaging through the pockets. While doing this he noticed one very strange thing, He had freckles. He could only have freckles if he wasn't a fuzzy ottsel.

Unbelieving blue eyes patted down his body, a skin on skin, and no fur. "Pinch me…"

Daxter jumped from the bed as strong fingers accommodated his wish and gave him a pinch. Daxter rubbed the reddening spot as he glared at Jak who was smirking while he lay across the bed. Daxter looked at the spot Jak pinched and stopped rubbing to look at the pale flesh. "I'm really human again?"

Elation flooded through him, he repeated the words as if they were a mantra till eyes brimmed with tears he let out a victorious whoop and leapt across the bed to pounce Jak and kissed him full on the lips. Jak's eyes widened at Daxter's move and very vocal smooching. With a huge gasp and even larger grin Daxter pulled back cupping Jak's face. "I'm human!"

Daxter was off the bed and scouring the small flat for a mirror. It took Jak a moment to sit back up; there was now a distinct taste of mangos on his lips.

"Jak! The only thing here is old lady clothes!"

Daxter came back with two floral print dresses and a wry grin. "Something you'd like to share with me? If you wanna go cross dressing you should at least shave the chin fuzz."

Jak's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet as he gawked for a moment after realizing what Daxter said. "I don't cross dress!"

Daxter's grin doubled in size as he discarded the dresses to the floor and pounced onto the bed. "You're blushing! It's true! Jak like's to cross dress! Jak likes to umph?!"

Jak pinned Daxter to the bed covering the red head's mouth. "Stop saying that! We're in the bazaar, you know how fast rumors start up here!"

Daxter's playful expression changed to confusion. Jak kept his hand over Daxter's mouth knowing the red head would keep asking questions and not let him explain. "This is Onin's place, do you remember coming here?"

Daxter shook his head intently listening as Jak kept him pinned. "I.. well, you found me, but you were... You were like the dark me only different. I don't know how it happened though."

Jak pulled his hand away, knowing Daxter would have questions, but he was unprepared for the first one. "Was I hot?"

Jak sputtered, "hot.. what? That's what you want to know?"

Daxter rolled his eyes. "Of course."

He didn't know how to answer this. Daxter was the one who did the talking, Jak preferred to listen. "What do you think of me when I turn into a monster?"

Looking thoughtfully Daxter bit the end of his tongue between his teeth as he started picturing dark Jak. Sleek dark horns that followed the flow of whitened hair, ashen skin that empathized the dark eyes that could terrify a person to freeze in their tracks. "I'd go with… kinky Goth. Yeah, that about sums it up. A bit on the whole 'grrroowl' side too."

Daxter's hand strained against Jak's grip as he tried to do the motion of clawing the air. Daxter's grin grew as he was almost to the point of unmanly giggling with the utter glee. Jak smiled at the sight of Daxter's buckteeth, "little rabbit."

Daxter's smile faltered he watched Jak. The blond hadn't meant it as an insult; it was an old nickname from Sandover. Daxter looked away, Jak watch still hovering overtop Daxter lifted a hand to gently tilt Daxter's face back. "Don't do that. I like the way you look."

Daxter looked back to Jak. Slow at first, the smile came back. "Suppose I should be grateful to have them back, means I'm me again."

Jak smiled widely ruffling Daxter's hair, Daxter swatted at the hands and the two were pulled into a wrestling match. Daxter quickly found himself atop Jak as the stronger of the two had to remember how much force to hold back while Daxter was able to give it his all. "Now we see who the sidekick is!"

Jak had forgotten what the gesture of Daxter stretching his hands meant for a moment before the memory came back and he promptly attempted to roll out of the way. Daxter's fingers plunged down in curling motions over Jak's stomach and to the side of his ribs. Jak coughed and sputtered as he tried to hold back from laughing, Daxter knew his most ticklish areas.

"Will you two knock it off! Yesh, acting like newly weds, they can hear you thirteen stalls down at the wine and cheese booth and you know how stories get exaggerated there."

Both Jak and Daxter looked over as Pecker perched over the elaborate but very old dresser. Daxter grinned at the advisor. "Pecker, even you're a sight for these beautiful blue eyes. How's it going monkey breath?"

"Oh fine, fine except keep talking like that rat boy and I might not be so generous as to give you pants."

Daxter's eyes lit up as he jumped off the bed, one would think Pecker had offered Daxter a band new peacemaker for his excitement. "Pants! You aren't pullin' one over on me right birdbrain? You got real genuine pants for me?"

"Yes, yes, genuine pants. If only to get you out of my house faster. Now put them on, the sight of your legs offends me!"

Pecker tossed over the pair of knee length cargo shorts he'd brought with him Daxter caught them and looked down at his legs. "Hey, what's wrong with my legs? To sexy for you bent beak?"

His legs were rather slender and long for a man giving a more delicate air then the usual heavy torso male. Pecker took wing as he headed back out. "You are so not my type even as a human. Get your phone already, it is driving me nuts."

The ringing. Jak searched around laying stomach he felt the side of the bed till he reached under it till he found his pants. He pulled them onto the bed and searched the pockets for his communicator.

"Jak my boy.. (wheeze) I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours. I don't like waiting, hmm. I have a very important job for you."

Krew's line cut out and Jak was off the bed he dropped the communicator onto the bed as he began pulling on his pants. "Probably gun upgrade."

Jak searched and found where he left his knee belts. Daxter pulled on the shorts; he looked at the white long sleeve shirt and shook his head. "I'll so totally melt in this."

"Daxter."

Daxter looked over as Jak held out a hand and made a grasping motion in the air. Daxter looked down at the long sleeve blue tunic he was wearing, he smiled sheepishly as he began pulling off the tunic. He struggled, he lost his balance, his left foot caught his right heel and he fell. Jak had jumped forward, seeing the fall in slow motion but missed Daxter. Jak hit the floor first, then grunted with the impact of Daxter landing on top of him. Daxter struggled for another moment; he was truly stuck with his arms over his head as he tried flailing the shirt off.

Jak laughed softly as he took the ends of the shirt and helped Daxter out. His soft laughter became loud was he pointed to Daxter's hair which had become ruffled and full of static from the shirt. Daxter grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair, yelping when he got shocked for his efforts.

"Dax, why don't you wait here. I'll go see what Krew wants."

Daxter pulled his hands down and to his side. "Hell no! Demolition DUO! There isn't any uno in duo buddy. Besides, last thing you need is to go bounding off anywhere without me to scream in your ear seconds before the metal heads pounce."

Daxter held out the long sleeve shirt to Jak and indicated he wanted the sleeves torn off. Jak complied with Daxter's request, turning the long sleeve shirt to a sleeveless while he tried to think of a way to keep Daxter behind. "We need to get you a gun."

Daxter froze just as he slid on the white top. He looked down and muttered something softly as he patted down the material over his partially toned belly. Jak leaned in a bit; it was unusual for Daxter to speak so quietly. Daxter saw Jak's expression and repeated himself. "I don't do guns, Jak."

That did surprise Jak, Daxter had always loved watching Sig's peacemaker go off and he was never shy about handling Jak's guns. "I know you're not a pacifist Dax."

Daxter shook his head; he wouldn't look Jak in the eyes. "I made a promise Jak. It was… if feels like forever but, in the two years that you were gone I made a promise to someone, special. I promised her I'd never use a gun. So I can't use a gun."

Jak crossed his arms one over the other, he wasn't sure why he was suddenly getting mad but his eyes were narrowed. "Well, you'll just have to break that promise. Unless you want to end up as a metal head's supper or on the KG death list."

At the heavy sarcastic tone Daxter glared turning his eyes up toward Jak's. "The hell was that? I didn't deserve that Jak!"

Jak shrugged as he finished dressing and making a definite show of equipping his gun mod. "In the time you were flirting around with girls did you possibly think of the hell I was being put through?"

A heavy unpleasant heat weighed down in his chest as Daxter felt his eyes start to mist. "That's not fair! You're not the only one who suffered!"

"Yeah I suppose you had it real rough Daxter. Having to walk bar to bar on your own two feet rather then having someone to carry you on their back everywhere. That's so much worse then being tortured every precursor cursed day for reasons that no one will explain!"

The rage passed, the heaviness left him and it left laughing as it took the anger he had felt and left him with the sight of Daxter crying. Jak took a half step back and looked away. He didn't know why he had done that, and there was such silence now. The dreadful quiet when there is nothing but someone you love sobbing quietly, disbelieving, because of something you hadn't meant to say.

Jak turned away after a glance upward to Daxter whose face was flushed red and eyes filling with tears. Jak fought to get that anger back to block out the guilt. He repeated to himself he was right, that there was no way Daxter had it as rough as him. Jak stormed to the door barely looking back as the sound of Daxter's quickened breathing and stifled sobs was weighing against his chest. "Just stay here."

The door slammed harder then he'd meant it to but he felt it was too late to turn back. He had to stay his course. There was a fleeting hesitation but he couldn't ask his conscious as he had just slammed the door on him.

Deep breath, he set out toward the glass ramp. He'd see what Krew wanted, give everyone a chance to cool off. He mentally nodded back to himself. What he'd said was in the moment, understandable, he'd get back and Daxter would have forgotten the whole thing and they'd go on like normal.

It had become too easy for him to ignore the small voice that protested otherwise.

* * *

Author note: this took longer then usual. I was in a fairly bad car accident and under a lot of stress at school because no matter the reason if you miss three classes you are out. So I've been very stressed, I have done a fair amount of drawings on my deviant account. The link is on my web homepage, if I haven't typed for a bit check for a deviant update.

Thank you Aunt Rackie for the cyber hug :) Ezj, Nicend Sedgehammer, Night Fox Hiten, thank you for the reviews. Oh and Night Fox Hiten, yes the story will go on for a while more. I still don't have an ending planned yet. It was just freaky coincidence that the accident happened right after chapter seven. (Lioness turns on scary x-files music, while looking around the room suspiciously with shifty eyes. Conspiracy is everywhere.)


	9. In the Dust

__

There he was, barely a year in Haven city and he was going to die before he saved his best friend. The man was a pro shot he wouldn't miss and Daxter could only pin his ears back and close his eyes. He'd seen something he wasn't supposed to, the man also knew he wasn't just a rat his daughter had found.

Gunfire, a single shot but Daxter didn't feel an impact.

How could such a tiny body bleed so much? Daxter paced around his paws getting covered in the child's blood. She was feebly reaching for him. He came closer and let her pull him to her chest and knead her hands into his fur. "xter.. pr.. omise. Promise me..?"

He knew what she wanted, the promise she'd asked of him earlier, the very one he said no to. "I promise, I won't use a gun. I promise."

He looked up to her face hoping to see a smile an acknowledgment of his words. Daxter's pinned his ears back tightly and trembled as he saw she was already dead.

* * *

There was the ringing again. Daxter jerked up hitting his head on the dresser that he'd been leaning against. He'd fallen asleep sitting on the floor. Daxter shook off the daze, rubbing at the dried tears on his cheeks and the sore spot on the back of his head. He looked back to the bed; Jak had forgotten the communicator.

Picking it up, he pushed the flashing button and the small device flipped on. "Jak where have you been? The race is going to start soon!"

Daxter was suddenly very grateful the communicators weren't visual. He ran a hand through his hair trying to fix it. "Hey Keira! It's Orange Lightening here; Jak isn't here right now but if you need a warm fuzzy body to cuddle against. Wait. No Keira, I'm human! I'm human again!"

He had been on automatic, trying to keep up with his carefree image. Old lines, old pick ups, said with more enthusiasm each time. "Daxter? Where's Jak?"

He put a hand in the air as he shook the communicator. "Yeah, hi to you too babe. Yeah, the weather's nice up here now that I'm over five feet tall again."

There was a pause, Daxter knew Keira was pondering over what to say. "Oh, Dax that's great news. But listen the class two race is starting soon. We need a racer."

"Can't you race it Keira? You have all those trophies, I don't know where Jak is."

It wasn't a video communicator, so he couldn't see her shake her head but in the pause after he knew she had done it. "It's against the rules Daxter. And if you'd bothered to read the guidelines I gave you, you'd know the head mechanic for a registered race can not be the racer. If Jak's not around you'll just have to do it."

"We'll I'm so glad I'm right up there on you're list of… wait… Hell no! I hate zoomers! With the crashing and the dying! No way babe, I'm keeping my human but in one piece thank you very much."

He heard Keira grit her teeth and Daxter flinched as Keira must have thrust the communicator right up to her mouth. "Listen Daxter! I have never been disqualified from a race! I've been doing this from when we got to this awful place! I am not going to be disqualified because our racer is to chicken to make it to the starting line!"

"Daxter?"

Daxter blinked owl eyed at the communicator at the new voice. "Tess? Hey Tessy-kins."

"Oh, my little whisker-puss. Keira.. No wait!"

"Tess, this is an emergency! We need a racer!"

"Not my itty bitty hero! It's too dangerous!"

Daxter could picture the two busty girls wrestling over the communicator, toned arms grappling, heaving cleavage occasionally squishing up. "Hey baby cakes, be prepared for a new hero cause Orange Lightening is taking on a new kind of speed."

There was a girly giggling that could only belong to Tess. "Oh, my hero! You're so brave Daxter! Just you be careful out there and make sure those other naughty racers don't try to ram you."

The communicator turned off and Daxter pushed it into his pocket. "How hard can it be? Just hold the handles and point the thing where I want it to go. Push buttons that make it go faster, yeah I can do that."

He stood, deep breath, he pulled at the wrinkles in his new clothes. He had to look great, Orange lightening was always with a smile and fashionably late to every party. He went to the mirror and tried a smile.

Too fake.

He coughed and glared at his reflection, he rolled his shoulders and tried again with the smile. It touched briefly to his eyes. It would convince a stranger and that wasn't good enough.

* * *

_"Daxter, I need you to smile. Smile for mommy."_

_The child shuddered, inches away from crying again and ruining the makeup his mother had put on him to try and hide the dark bruise over his eye. "I don't want to smile. It stings."_

_Her reflection in the mirror, faded, her image was blurred. But she had such a perfect smile. "I know. I know my brave little man. But you have to smile; no one likes a pouter. Smile darling."_

* * *

Daxter focused himself; he didn't see himself staring back in the reflection. Becoming Orange Lightening, becoming who everyone saw. His smile became cocky; he gave a saucy wink to the mirror.

He had it. The transformation was complete, no self-doubt, no worries beyond himself. Orange Lightening was in the house. He headed out, he didn't have shoes but he improvised with wrapping the torn sleeves in the same pattern he had done in Sandover.

Being at Onin's place it wasn't hard to orient himself and even less time to make it to the racetrack. Keira was waiting she frowned and tapped her slender fingers against her crossed arms as she walked up to him handing him a sleeveless denim vest. "Tess wanted me to give you this. She'd made it for Jak but I told her it probably wasn't a good idea."

Daxter looked at the sleeveless vest, on the back in clear bold letters it said 'Eco Freak'. "Yeah, good call on that one Keira. Where is Tess anyway?"

Keira looked to an official for the racetrack. "I explained the situation and your good to go."

Daxter pulled on the vest; it fit well considering it was for Jak. "And Tess?"

"Look Dax, Tess is used to seeing you as an ottsel. A small furry animal, I didn't want anything weighing on your mind but the race so… So worry about what Tess is going to think of you latter. Right now, race."

She left on that, but as she passed him she gave a gentle pat to his shoulder. What the gesture meant he wasn't sure. But there was no time to ask. There were a lot of people. People screaming at the top of their lungs and the race hadn't even started. "So you're the new blood, the substitute for the Eco Freak."

"Oh, so you can read? Wow, we should call somebody, a race jockey who passed first grade."

Daxter watched the other red head quickly piece together the insult and the logo on the back of his vest. Daxter hesitated, the man looked somewhat familiar but he couldn't place a finger on who he was. The man came closer barely inches apart Daxter pulled back but the man circled with a feral smile. "Next time you see Jak be sure to tell him I don't want the trophy, I want him."

"Got it, tell Jak a fellow red head wants to make out with him real bad."

The man seethed putting his face up to Daxter's as he snarled. "I am not your 'fellow' anything."

Daxter nonchalantly waved a hand in front of his face, "Whew. I can smell the difference already. I got two words for you, breath mint. It will do wonders for your life with the women."

"I'm afraid that I don't swing that way. You seem awfully familiar, but I don't forget a face especially one so unique."

Daxter crossed his arms over his chest and straightened out his shoulders. "Yeah, well I ain't your type and I'm sure Jak ain't interested either. As for looking familiar I could say the say thing about you buddy but those tattoos are pretty common and so are you."

Daxter wasn't sure if it was one part in particular or that he just really knew how to push this guy's buttons but there was suddenly a gun pressed under his chin and a very pissed man staring him down. Daxter didn't know why, he was scared, terrified but he was also smiling. "Do it and I'll die knowing your death won't be nearly so pretty. Jak will tear you apart."

The gun slid down pressing against the Adam's apple. It was then that the man smiled. "Daxter. Yes, it makes sense. There was always one name, one name my blond pet always screamed, one name that he whispered, Daxter. Daxter, he would cry. Do you realize how much simpler things would have been if he didn't cling to your name like some damn child with a stuffed toy?"

Anger, uncertainty, and the cold metal thorns of hate grew. "Oh, now I know who you are. Erol, how could I forget?"

Daxter watched pleased when the red head rose to the bait with a self-satisfied smile. "So my pet mentioned me to you then. How delightful."

Daxter forced the anger back to appear confused and bored at Erol's words. "Eh? No, Jak's never mentioned you before. But I finally remembered where I saw you. There were all these gawd awful posters on the way here, of this but ugly racer named Erol. I kept thinking, 'Jeez, this guy must be real good at racing cause there ain't no way he could get in anyone's bed to screw his way to the bill-BORED. Probably made people's mama's want to stick their babies back in the womb to keep the poor kids from suffering the fate of seeing such a face."

The blow was hard, fast and stung like hell sending him to the ground, but it was worth it to see the look on the scumbag's face. Daxter only wished he didn't feel the sting of tears coming and that he could put on a defiant look. "You sure you want to do more? With cameras, referee's and the oh so adoring fans watching."

Erol hesitated and looked out. He didn't care what people thought of his brutality, he loved the sight and smell of fear. Yet, on the track he won by the rules because that proved he was the best. He was better and stronger and there was no way for people to deny it. If a racer lost because he was beaten prior to a race it would cause doubt. People would question if Erol really was the strongest.

He looked down to the small red head. The dark blue eyes attempting to be defiant but welling up with tears, the hand that gingerly held his bruising cheek. Errol smiled as a pleasurable heat began to rise. "Tell Jak to watch his back. That I'll be seeing both him and his pet again soon."

Daxter did not feel he had the courage or will power to flip Erol the bird but he wanted to. As Erol walked away Daxter got back to his feet and wiped his runny nose and eyes with the back of his fist. He looked down the track line where Keira's zoomer was waiting. He felt shaky enough with the confrontation with Erol but the idea of now racing had lost the biting edge of fear after what he'd just dealt with.

"Oh, Daxter, by the way."

Daxter looked back as Erol spoke though they were old chums. "Early on this track there is a very wide canyon, jump it and you're almost guaranteed a win. Fall and you're disqualified."

* * *

Taryn could not believe it. The report regarding metal heads she filed nearly two years ago had finally gotten an official response. A thank you citizen but we are well aware of the presence of monsters outside the city. Remain inside the walls.

If it took two years to get that sort of crap-tacular response from the government then no wonder they were losing the city. She threw the note to her apartment floor; it landed amongst a pile of scavenged mechanical parts. She glanced where the paper landed and saw the last mod she had made for Daxter's weapon. The scruffy cowboy loved the idea of flying around on all the other mods she'd tried to make an anti gravity one.

But then she lost track of him, and that new fighter appeared. Some called him a vicious monster others a savior, but all agreed that he was very dangerous. And that on his shoulder, was a small orange animal.

Taryn frowned at the unfinished weapon attachment. "Well cowboy what trouble have you wrangled up?"

She headed out the door and left the complex. The sun was unusually bright, so she waited for her eyes to adjust. While she did Taryn overheard a few nearby guards talking about the race that was about to begin. She walked over toward them as they were watching an electronic store window where the race was being broadcast. One guard gave her a warning look but she smiled and turned her attention to the race. It put him at ease and the guards continued to chat amongst themselves.

Taryn gently tapped the end of her chin as the view went to the racers. One racer near the back looked far too fragile to be racing. Looked more like he should have been an actor on a stage then in a life or death race. Yet, small and scruffy, he reminded her keenly of the ottsel she had not seen in quite a while.

But the red head was also in last place and with his skill he did not look like he had any chance to catch up. That was, until he did something no one could have expected.

He jumped the canyon.

Taryn distantly heard someone on a zoomer behind her, crash. No doubt from seeing the jump, but she was in awe and so was the guards beside her. "Shit man, little puck red head jumped canyon. Erol's been the only one to jump that bitch."

"Nu-uh, that blond in the last race jumped it."

Taryn scoffed. "Yeah but that one doesn't have the pillars. No one but Erol's made that one and landed well enough to keep racing."

A guard nodded beside her as they kept watching. "Shit yeah. Erol's my boy, never let's me down when I bet on him. Hey, maybe the track likes red heads. Don't know, two red heads that jump canyon, guy."

Then they watched closer most swearing as the red head racer jumped the canyon a second time in a row. Effectively putting him in third place. "Holy precursors!"

Taryn found herself unable to look away from the screen, dimly aware the guards and some civilians were taking last minute bets on if the red head was going to jump for the final lap, and live. "Come on cowboy…"

He felt so familiar. The camera following him she watched intently as he neared the canyon. One racer he was dancing in and around second place with veered and went for the jump.

Canyon was not big enough for two. The other racer chickened but it was too late. His zoomer knocked the red head's vehicle, as his own spun out of control and crashed into a pillar. Taryn flinched as the red head's zoomer twisted in the air doing a full one eighty.

If he wasn't so light there would have been no way the zoomer would have made the jump, but he did. Taryn could see he hit the track hard. What happened next could have been an accident, but then if that was the case, that red head was the luckiest man alive.

The turbos were activated while the zoomer was still facing the wrong way but when the other zoomer had hit it earlier the thrusters had loosened and he was driving backwards. Right through to the finish.

* * *

It was almost two hours after the race by the time he'd reached Krew's bar where Tess worked. The trip had only taken so long because after the race he wanted absolutely nothing to do with a vehicle.

So he had walked and now he stood outside the doors of Hip Hog Haven.

What could he expect, the more Daxter thought about it the harder it was to be carefree. Tess had fallen for furry, cute cuddle sized Orange Lightening, she never signed up for the short bucktooth freckle factory. He took in a sharp breath; he just wanted to get it over with. He opened the door, "Hey Tess."

Her back was to him, and he could see she stiffened with his approach. She turned but her eyes were closed. One eye opened, then both with a shocked expression her lips parted and her mouth hung open. Her eyes looked over his thin body and took in the vest she had made for Jak. "Oh my gawd…"

Daxter flinched, anger swelled inside him. No matter how bad he might look he didn't deserve that kind of expression after considering Tess a friend. He had not thought about how being human might change the way people who had only known him as an ottsel would think of him.

Keira came out from the lady's room and looked from Daxter to Tess. Tess looked at Keira a hand covering her mouth. "Keira you lie! Look at those eyes! He looks like an itty bitty country kitty!"

Daxter was definitely the most shocked from the reaction "a… kitty?"

She squealed and practically jumped with excitement. "Oh my gawd! Oh my gawd. You have the cutest teeth like ever! Forget the kitty, you're like a little mouse! Oh! A little red bunny! I've always loved cute little bunnies!"

She reached over the counter and started petting Daxter's hair and straightening his vest and clothes. "If I died right now I would be all; what the hell? There was the cutest guy and I died because it was adorability overload. So bring my ass back to life because it was so not my fault."

Tess leaned down resting her head against her hands as she zoned out while smiling, staring with a loving expression at Daxter. Daxter sat down on a barstool and Tess followed him with a goo-goo expression. Keira broke the silence by coughing loudly. Tess looked over at the girl and frowned deeply, one hand on her hip. "Keira, you are so mean! You told me Daxter got hit with the ugly stick but you just wanted him for yourself didn't you? That is so not fair, I almost didn't look!"

Wide-eyed Daxter looked at Keira; Keira wouldn't have said that to Tess. He didn't believe it. Keira wouldn't look at him.

Daxter got up and started heading for the door. His pace quickened every stride. Tess called after him which only made him go faster. He was a step away from the door when a large pair of breasts and long legs blocked his way. "I thought I recognized you, cowboy."

Daxter looked up, beyond the breasts. "Taryn?"

She folded her arms and gave him one of her saucy winks. "The one and only. So what's your game? Last time I saw you, you were… How should I put it…? Scruffy?"

Daxter rolled his eyes, previous dilemma moving to the back of his mind. "It's a long story sweet cakes. You might want to pull up a chair and get a hard drink for it cause this one ain't gonna be easy to swallow."

* * *

Author note: first of all thank you everyone for the concern about the car crash. I don't really want to go over details with it, I'm not trying to be rude but I'm still having bad nightmares from it. The reason I had brought it up was I didn't want people mad at me for not updating in awhile. Classes have thankfully worked out, I begged the teacher and he said he'd take care of it and let the absence slid.

I miss Jak… I think I'll need to give him a little extra love and attention in the next part. (Taryn, is not an original character, she was in the Daxter game for the PSP.)

I am a bit worried on how this chapter went. Because of its length I'm worried I missed details, or was too jumpy on the way the story played out. I'm bad that way in essays, I'll go one point to another and everyone will be confused at what I'm trying to say. So till my fears over this are confirmed or denied I'm going to be very nervous on what people think of the chapter. Usually after a couple comments about the chapter I'm good to write the next one, so please tell me what you think before I run out of nail to bite.


	10. Surrender And Die

IMPORTANT NOTE: the first part of this chapter is Pre Chapter Nine. It's after Jak completes the mission Krew gave him but BEFORE Daxter goes to the Hip Hog.

* * *

It hadn't been a particularly difficult mission, point shoot and guard. All Krew had wanted was for Jak to escort a few men down into the sewers. He didn't like the mission; it had been too dull. He had had gotten used to the sewer routes and though they took a new tunnel the metal heads were predictable.

There was the blond one's banter. Jak squinted his eyes as he exited the sewers and he thought hard to remember the name. Acting on impulse, as he left the sewer, he didn't bother hot wiring the parked zoomer but knocked off a man who was already riding along.

Jinx, that was the name. Mindless talk the whole time. It grated on his nerves how the blond acted so friendly and those wandering hands that apparently didn't only work with explosives. The first few gropes Jak had naively believed were accidental but then when Jinx had leaned in close –like that man- hot breath like smoke –what terror would bring- Jak understood and let off a blaster shot very close to Jinx's manhood.

They believed it was a warning shot, that the big bad blond spoke more with guns then a voice. It was actually more simple then all that. Jak had gotten distracted by the sound of a nearing metal head and missed. If anything it had been bad aim. There was no more touching but the chatter and stray remarks about his pretty boy looks continued.

Jak ditched the zoomed on the roadway above Onin's home. Several angry civilians began yelling profanities, so he turned and shot the zoomer with his blaster. The vehicle exploded and the rush of power made him smile. He wasn't helpless anymore.

The civilians complaints dealt with Jak hoped off the bridge and onto his hoverboard as he headed to the house.

Attention, the class two races are about to begin.

Jak tripped off the hoverboard and stumbled to a stop. He had completely forgotten about the race. He got back on the board as he skirted through the bazaar to Keira's workshop.

* * *

As he turned around the corner looking for Keira, Jak knew she would be raving mad at him. He knew the race had already started, there was no way for him to enter now. Tess and Keira looked at him as he came into the workshop. Tess barely looked up; she looked like she had just lost her best friend or puppy. Keira stood up from her work. "Jak, there you are. Daxter had to take your place in the race."

Jak flinched back with the sudden image of a human shaped crater in a wall somewhere near the starting line. "I'm going to go watch then."

And shoot any racer who even tries to touch him.

"You two got in a fight didn't you?"

Jak was started by Keira's words. He looked at Tess but she wasn't looking at anyone. She looked though finding a chest of precursor orbs would not lift her spirits. "Did Daxter tell you?"

Keira folded her arms there was something a bit strange about her. She seemed distant to him. "He didn't say in so many words but why else would he have your communicator and not you? Come with Tess and me to the Hip Hog, relax a bit. If Daxter loses he loses and we'll think of a new way for you to get into the Baron's palace. Besides, Daxter is such a hot head, win or lose he's just going to be bragging to every man woman and child he comes across about how he even got in the race. Give a thought to others Jak, I never get to see you. Drive me and Tess to the Hip Hog and tell me how things are going with you."

Keira… He didn't want to tell her that he didn't want to talk to her about it. Talking about the past made the past seem real. He wasn't ready for it to be real, not yet, but somehow he found he was nodding to her request and smiling back to her smile.

* * *

Once they had reached the Hip Hog Tess had excused herself and started work early which was fine by Krew so long as he didn't have to pay her overtime. At one of the booths both Jak and Keira had taken to quietly talking.

Keira sipped her light ale. She put the drink down tracing the lip of the mug with her nail. Jak's attention wasn't divided; it was barely on her at all. He had been watching the door for Daxter and speaking in short answers to everything she asked. Her lips pulled together tightly, as she became resolute. If she was going to get anywhere in their relationship she was going to have to be the aggressor. She was getting sick of waiting for Jak.

She pretended to start to take another sip of her drink but purposely spilled some down her top. It caught Jak's attention when she gave a feminine oppsies. She set the drink close to the edge of the table, by accident of course. Her drink set into her white top quickly, tanned skin beneath became quite visible.

He was becoming rosy cheeked as he kept looking away only to look back. Keira press herself against him, in a friendly way as she reached for the napkins. Clumsily her hand knocked down her drink into Jak's lap. Jak flinched as Keira gave an apologetic cry. She grabbed the napkins and started trying to blot away the beer from Jak's pants. "I'm so sorry Jak!"

She glanced up at his face as she started innocently rubbing and bloating out the beer. Her eyes hidden behind her dark lashes she could see Jak eyes fade slightly as he looked down her beer soaked top.

She smiled. She had him. She finally had him!

Abruptly he stiffened, and far from any pleasurable way. He pulled back into the chair; he then looked at Keira and not her top. "I have to find Daxter."

He left the bar with no other comment. Keira looked at the door in disbelief. She didn't know what had gone wrong, he liked it. She knew he liked it, he was starting to get off watching her so what the hell happened. Her hand clenched into a fist and hit the table.

Keira ran a hand through her hair. She refused to cry, she absolutely refused. Her cheeks were hot from embarrassment over what she had done and failed to do. Jak liked her, he liked curves, and he'd been staring down her shirt blushing for precursor's sake.

Her hand covered her mouth as she looked blankly ahead. Daxter. Jak had enjoyed it, she wasn't mistaken but he must have thought of Daxter, he thought of Daxter when Keira had been turning him on and that reminded him that Daxter still wasn't back.

And then he had realized what was really happening.

"Hey miss. That bloke don't have any idea how to treat a woman of your fine caliber. Let me buy you a new drink, eh?"

She ignored the request getting up with her pride and started heading to the ladies room. The man grabbed her arm. "Hey princess, no rush now."

She turned toward him and the man smiled down her shirt. Her knee crushed his rising interest and then with all her rage and inner pain she back handed him across the face hard enough to render him unconscious on the floor. The bar was silent for a moment before erupting in cheers. Her chin raised and pride restored she walked to the ladies room. And only then did she wince and clutch her poor hand, "that guy had a brick for a jaw. Ow…"

* * *

Post chapter Nine (Jak and Daxter just miss each other then after a little while Jak return's to see if he really did just miss Daxter.)

* * *

Daxter spotted him when there was a small hush to the bar. He had looked over to see what it was and there was Jak, dark blue eyes that mirrored his own Jak took one look at Taryn and was out the door again. "Jak!"

Daxter tripped over the barstool he was sitting on as he reached for the retreating blond. He hit the tile ground, Tess had just cleaned and he struggled to catch hold and get back up. When he did the door was already closed but that didn't stop him.

He was out the door and felt the first few pelting drops of rain. "Jak?"

Daxter spun around, he couldn't see Jak. There was thunder in the sky; he shivered involuntarily at the sound. "Dax."

"Jak?" He slipped falling to the wet stone. He yelped and moved to rub his ankle that now refused to let him ignore the abuse it had to endure twice.

Tears burned at his eyes. Daxter was never any good with pain but right now he had to speak with Jak. He had to ask him about Errol. "Daxter?"

Surprised he looked up; Jak was standing beside him looking very tense. "I have to ask… what happened? With Erol, the dark eco? What did they do?"

Jak moved back, he stumbled a few steps shaking his head. "No. Don't ask me that!"

"Jak! Please! I'm begging here."

There were tears now Daxter shook his head as he looked away from Jak, fearing he'd lose his resolve. "Whatever happened… it's my fault Jak. I didn't save you in time, I want... I have to know what I'm responsible for!"

There was the sound of a revving zoomer and Daxter wide eyed looked back up to see Jak leaving him. "Jak?"

He'd never left him like this. Daxter was hurt, Jak knew it, at least Daxter thought he did. And Jak left. Around him people were watching, staring at him for the outburst and tears, guards were coming.

Taryn headed them off, scooping up Daxter's arm and wrapping it over her shoulder for support. "A few too many drink there? A night's sleep and you'll be back on the saddle."

The pedestrians eyes wavered, the guards kept walking. Taryn's comment had made them all believe it was just a drunken outburst of emotion. Something that wasn't too uncommon in the troubled city. He was being taken away so there was no need to stare, normality would return.

Daxter wheezed as his body trembled violently, what had he done? He'd pushed, he pushed Jak. Taryn gave her shoulder a little flick to move Daxter. "Hey now Cowboy. You'll hyperventilate if you keep that up, you'd be lucky if I know CPR to revive you then."

An opening. She was trying to bring him back down from the emotional high. Choked throat made it difficult but he managed a smile, "I feel a full blow heart attack at your words. Better get started with mouth to mouth right away, get some practice in."

She smiled back at him and started heading back to the bar. Taryn was a bit surprised to see the drop dead gorgeous bar tender wringing her hands anxiously, waiting for them at the door. "Is she a friend of yours Cowboy?"

Daxter looked up to see Tess hovering around the bar door anxiously. She wanted to go to him but she couldn't leave the bar or she'd be fired, she was stuck with hand wringing and anxious hope he was coming back. "That beautiful blond is Tess. Real knock out ain't she?

Daxter didn't miss the crooked smirk on Taryn's face as she looked over the blond. "I'd say so."

They got close enough that Tess dared to move out of the entrance of the bar to wrap her arms around Daxter's neck and rub her cheek against his. "Oh! Daxter I saw you run out after Jak and I was worried!"

She now noticed Taryn; Daxter's arm looped over her shoulder and Daxter was keeping one foot tentatively off the ground. "You're hurt?"

She scooped up his other arm and helped Taryn led him into the bar. When the patrons looked over Daxter felt very smug. To his right, the busty blue haired Taryn, to his left the even bustier bubbly blond Tess. It helped his spirits a bit to know he had friends like them. They went to a booth closest to the bar. It had curtains and the most comfortable cushions. Naturally it was occupied.

The patron there seemed very rooted despite Tess telling him to go. With her free arm Tess pulled free her pistol and aimed it at the man. "Listen, boy. I'm pissed at a great number of things right now in life, it's my time of the month and I don't like your drink. Piss off or make my day."

He left graciously after that. Tess gave a small giggle and was looking at Taryn as the woman holstered her gun. Taryn and Daxter settled in at the booth, Tess glanced anxiously to where patrons were starting to get annoyed with the lack of service. Taryn winked at her, "Don't worry I'll keep our redhead company."

Was it his imaginations or was Tess blushing? She turned away and nearly tripped over a barstool. She quickly worked to recompose herself and started serving drinks again. "So, what's all this about Cowboy? Was that stick up his ass blond the Jak you were telling me about?"

Daxter smiled, his body position was open but it seemed like a lie to Taryn. He was playing the relaxed card but there was a tremble to his shoulders, a smile that was hard to maintain, and eyes that were too reflective at the moment. "Yeah that was Jak… he, ya know. Regular stick up his ass… mind you it reminds me…"

Taryn tilted her head confused. Daxter couldn't finish his sentences. His shoulders were shaking more visibly now and his head bowed down. "It ain't Jak's fault Taryn… It's mine… I'm such a bleeding coward. And now here I am griping to you when we haven't seen each other in months… Precursors I'm sorry you had to see me like this babe… I'll pull it together… just… just a sec 'kay?"

He was shaking so badly that it frightened Taryn. She'd only seen one person in her life reach a breaking point and that was enough. That was why she worked alone. Daxter couldn't break, he couldn't.

"No. You listen Daxter. You are brave. That's what I love about you. Think back, you say you never do anything dangerous but where are you when danger is around?"

"Behind Jak?"

"I never even saw Jak before tonight. No I saw you, dealing with metal head bugs armed with a fuzzy tail and a century old flyswatter. Then I give you a nerve toxin for the bugs and you're taking on full sized metal heads. You even killed metal head queens, on your own, without a gun or armor. I'd say that's courage to the extreme."

Daxter was looking away; Taryn frowned as she realized he was trying not to listen because he didn't believe a word she was saying. Gently she put her hand under his chin and tilted his face back to her. She waited, holding his chin delicately till he looked up at her. "Why is it you think I call you Cowboy? Despite anything you say Daxter you're right there when people need you. Why is it you can't see that? What are those fancy words and jokes hiding? I'm glad I got to see you like this. If I had tried to say anything like this while your defense was up you wouldn't have listened. But now, maybe there is a chance I can reach you. What do you think, Cowboy?"

Tess came then and put down a large glass in front of Daxter. A wood umbrella pierced through mango slices and fresh cherries. The drink smelled of a variety of berries and was also laced with coconut vodka. "You're favorite Daxxie. It's on me. You can sleep all night in this booth if you want. It's about the only thing I can do for you right now."

She momentarily looked sad but when Daxter smiled at her she perked right back up and went back to the bar. The smile faded as he started downing the drink, Taryn frowned and glanced over to Tess who was busy with other customers. "I heard you're not exactly the iron stomach you claim to be. Maybe you should slow down a bit."

She paused listening intently. When Tess had come over he had reverted to his carefree self, no shakes or anything but now Daxter's shoulder's were starting to shake again. She couldn't see his face with how hunched over the bar he was; she could not hear what he was saying. She leaned closer her face very close to his as she could smell the different drinks he'd had, but also a pleasant natural smell that reminded her of country air and fruit. "Daxter?"

"I tried… I tried really hard to find him. I looked. I… ran. There were krimzon guards; we'd never been in the city before. I was scared, I'd never even seen a gun before but they came and surrounded us. I ran. I left him."

Taryn nearly had her chin against the counter top to see Daxter's face. He was smiling, but there were tears running down his cheeks, collecting and falling from his chin. She'd never seen anyone smile while they cried, for some reason it only made the sight sadder. He was starting to raise his hand for another drink. Taryn gently put her hand atop his and lowered it back to the counter. "Come on Cowboy, let's get you in a bed. You need rest and about twenty to thirty pounds of food."

She pulled his arm over her shoulders and helped steady Daxter out the door. It was then as the door closed behind them that the weight of what she was doing fell both literally and figuratively upon her. Looking down she saw how Daxter's hair fell limply around his face, the so very strange two tone color of the fire he so often imitated. "What am I doing?"

No voice answered her but the one inside herself, letting her know she couldn't leave a comrade behind. They'd fought together, and she knew the proverbial ringer Daxter was being put through was something he was doing to himself as much as anyone else was. "I'm useless… couldn't find Jak, couldn't stop Erol."

Taryn shifted is weight and hunched a little, she knew it to be impossible but it really felt as though her friend was shrinking somehow. "You're not useless, you're depressed. And half of it is the alcohol talking. I'm not letting you outta my sight till we have a long heart to heart.

"Taryn?"

His voice was slightly panicked but before she could look over his hand, shrunk, beneath her grip. She stumbled as his weight fell from her. Down by her feet was a large pile of clothing, which began squirming. An ottsel leapt out and surveyed the clothing in a panic. "What? What in the name of the Precursors happened?"

His ankle still very sore protested when he tried to stand, he walked on three legs and balancing his tail to keep the pain away. Taryn squatted down. "I have no idea Cowboy, but I might know someone who does."

Vin.

* * *

Author note: O-O I'm doomed… A question to authors reading this, are you supposed to start with a plan and work from that? A lot of the time everything just pieces together without me even knowing how it happened till it happens.

If people have ideas or things they want to see (or read) please don't hesitate and post it in a review. Ideas make the chapters come faster because they get me to think. They really, honestly, truly do. I sometimes stare at the posted reviews hoping to get some idea of what people liked most and what to do next. Things like; well, Jak should go back to the bar. There should be a scene with Torn and Ashelin.

I wasn't planning on sending Jak back to the bar but I think, pros and cons of Jak going to the bar. And toss the idea around. Torn and Ashelin, they're not the main characters but they could say or do something to progress the story.

Nicend, Aunt Rackie, ShadowChild Of Death, Night Fox Hiten, OttselDaxter, Sedgehammer; thank you all very much for your reviews and help. Sorry I didn't reply to everyone last chapter I've just been a bit out of sorts lately.

Love and cookies for all! (Lots of cookies, crumpets, tea and milk for all)


	11. Where The Heart Is

He drove at a literal breakneck speed. One wrong move would easily kill him. The rain pelted him, his skin numb from the cold and he couldn't feel the tips of his fingers. Jak knew that his grip on the zoomer was steadfast only because his speed was maintained.

He cut the next corner wide, daring anyone to try and play chicken with him. Jak grit his teeth as he mentally scolded himself for being such a fool. Of coarse Daxter was going to take up with woman after the race. He'd won the Class Two; no easy feat for even trained racers. He was probably surrounded right now by every woman who saw the race. All of them cooing over his expressive eyes, petting his soft hair, admiring his soft supple skin and counting the dozens of freckles.

Jak's muscles strained the metal of the zoomer; the machine was pushed to its limit and could go no faster. Dark eco sparked in a viscous coil over his skin, sharp fangs protruded vividly as he gave an anguished growl. It wasn't his place to complain over such things, he knew he should be happy for Daxter. Let the good fortune roll. Listen as Daxter told the story of the race to the ears of the eager woman, as they would press up against him and beg for the story again.

A loud thunderous sound snapped his attention to reality as Jak realized he'd bent the handlebars and was very lucky to still have steering at all. Speed wasn't going to be enough to distract him. He spotted a flash of crimson and sped toward it on his stolen zoomer. Malevolently, though the guard was personally responsible for everything, Jak leapt from the zoomer and let it plow down into the soldier's back. The krimzon guard's partner sent out an alert and was trying to also get the safety off his gun. Jak already had taken the vulcan fury into his hands while leaping from the back of the zoomer. His finger pulling the trigger only after he was sure the guard called an alert.

He didn't want this to end quickly.

Jak unleashed an overkill of bullets into the guard. The one guard on the ground was crippled by the zoomer's blow and couldn't get up. He was struggling vainly for his weapon which Jak kicked out of his reach and switched the vulcan fury to a peacemaker.

On cue, other guards began showing up, with one of their fragile red zoomers bringing air support. Jak's smile was a cruel one as he began charging up the peacemaker and beginning to aim. To Jak the krimzon guard were an extension of Errol, their deaths meant that man was weaker.

They weren't human, they weren't even beasts, all they were was mindless brutes that derived pleasure from torture and humiliation of others. As Jak exhaled deeply and pulled the trigger there was no doubt in his mind he wanted them all to die.

The blast obliterated the zoomer; both vehicle and driver were sent to the ground in a flaming heap. As a testament to Jak's aim the vehicle itself fell over the men it was supposed to protect and killing most instantly in the weight and heat.

The dark eco inside him screeched through his body like nails to a chalkboard. There was no reason it couldn't be freed. His back arced foreword as his hair lengthened and turned ashen. His eyes blue eyes blinked closed only to open as black abyss. Teeth snapped with the ache of the fangs, hands burning and stretching outward as the black claws grew.

He arced back as he unleashed a primal scream to challenge the world. He would take on everyone and they would all lose. Because it was their fault, he hated the entire city. They were all monsters, and they created him to be a different sort of beast. They created their own destruction.

* * *

Daxter glared as Vin came closer with a thermometer. "If that ain't oral don't even think of it!"

Vin stuttered in the mix of broken words as he shook the thermometer in his hand and looked closely at it. "I guess I don't need that. But seriously, you're taking about two full transmutations. The implication makes dark eco even more unstable then already believed.' Vin suddenly got that doubtful look he would always get. 'Or maybe it's more stable… what.. What if dark eco is a stable form."

He ran to his computer fingers dancing faster then even Orange Lightening could follow. "What if dark eco isn't a random biological but a calculated arithmetic equation. It's always been assumed that it's impossible to equate the effects of dark eco because it fluctuates its multiple. But if there's a second equation, one to calculate the fluctuation then…"

Taryn and Daxter wore mirrored expressions of confusion while Vin darted back and forth to different consoles. "Oh no it would be very complex it was true. Formulating the minimum time to even calculate such a formula would at least seven hundred and ninety eight days… maybe if I squeeze it in between lunch break and eco grid net checks…"

"Vin!"

The frail man jumped with a scream bracing against the computer as he looked right from left. Taryn and Daxter both looked at each other before looking back to the intelligent but highly paranoid man.

Once he had calmed, to his usual level, Vin leaned against his computers as to him they were the center point of the world. He wrapped one arm around his chest whilst the opposite hand tapped thoughtfully at the end of his chin. "Well, like I keep telling people, I am not a physician but I have two hypothesizes based on the effects of rudimentary eco studies and the symptoms you have described."

Daxter prayed Taryn was paying attention because he was already lost. Vin spoke in his usual rapid succession. "The first hypothesis was that it was a large source of dark eco that reverted you back to a human form was a fluke due to an overload of eco. My second hypothesis that I think is more likely knowing dark eco like I do, and believe me you don't want to, is that the double helix in your DNA was mutated by the dark eco and changed to create a transmutation genetic code. I believe that to be the more likely case based on how Jak will go all dark and scary with the back claws and razor sharp teeth but the revert to a normal human."

Daxter was furiously scratching at the fur on his head trying to keep the feeling of an overloaded brain to a minimum. "What the hell does all that mean?"

Taryn folded her arms and shifted her weight to one foot. "It was either a short lived glitch that you turned human or you should be able to go back and forth."

Vin adjusted his glasses, "Precisely. I also have a theory on how this worked. First, when there is something scary or horrible in front of you, you want to shrink back become small and hide away. Panic, it's a genetic code for survival."

"But Daxter fought off metal head queens for precursors sake. I am getting sick of hearing that Daxter is a coward. He's got more gumption then most of the population of this spineless city of sheep."

Awe struck Vin did a dramatic double take as he looked at the small furry ottsel. "You! You took on a metal head queen? Oh, you mean with Jak right? For a moment I thought you meant on his own."

With a rather pissed off look Taryn's fingers were tapping rhythmically against her biceps. "I did."

"Oh you did well, I'm glad we cleared that up.. Wow it's kind of hot and…"

Panting heavily Vin started sliding down to the ground. Daxter and Taryn raised questioning looks as the scientist fainted. Daxter rolled his eyes, "oh yeah. 'Let's go see Vin he can help us.' Good one Taryn."

Hand on hip she looked down to the ottsel holding out an arm for him to climb up. "Hey it was a good idea. Vin's eccentric but he knows his stuff. Besides I think I've got the rest figured out. Have you had anything but alcohol and the bits of food that comes with it lately?"

Perched over Taryn's shoulder was no where near as comfortable as Jak's. First off she didn't have nearly enough real estate for him to get comfortable second her skin was too exposed and as much as he tried to be careful he would leave small thin scratches when he moved around. Though Taryn pretended not to notice. "Not really babe. I think I had some soup a few days ago but there really is not much time for food when you're laying down the heat with metal heads and keeping track of the golden boy wonder."

Taryn exited the electrical station where Vin worked. She looked both ways and glanced down the side of the walkway. She jumped into the passenger seat of a civilian's car. She gave him a solid kick on the shoulder to push him out but was courteous enough to change hover zones, unlike Jak. She took the wheel and Daxter put on the seat belt for the passenger side. "I think that your transformation doesn't deal solely with the DNA but the RNA as well. My guess is that a glucose count is one of the most important factors."

At the blank look she explained further. "Blood sugar, your body's energy. I don't think you'll manage to do any human time till you've put on weight. You're so fluffy as an ottsel I never noticed but when you're human you're definitely underweight, you've got muscle and bone but any fat is cosmetic and that's no good for a soldier. Plus, there is your mood. When you transformed you were definitely depressed. I think you're more comfortable in the ottsel body then the human one because you've gotten used to it. As a human you knew a much more friendly world, as an ottsel you know this one. I think your body reacted to the distress and lack of food by changing you back to the more adapted form."

Daxter was giving her a look she mistook for confusion but she gave it right back, though she was mostly focused on the cars. "Didn't you have a little more weight when I saw you last? You were always thin but your ribs look much more fragile then I remember them."

Daxter looked away for a second feeling the bones under his fur. "A little I guess. It isn't easy finding time to sit and eat, ya know? I mean, Jak's always on the move and grabs food for us while we're heading to this place or that but eating while running or moving or fighting makes me all wheezy like an old man. How do you know all those fancy medical mumbo jumbo words anyway? Come to think of it, you knew what Vin was talking about too. What gives?"

Taryn looked momentarily uncomfortable before she decided to tell him. "Vin used to be my tutor. My family paid for private lessons hoping I would enter the eco research field. Then I entered my rebellion phase and said I wanted to become a Wastelander and hunt for artifacts. I moved into the nearest residence that I could get to the gates so I could start training myself. I regret it now, because of what it lead to."

Her grip had tightened on the wheel of the car. Daxter's ears pinned back, "hey babe, you don't have to say it if it hurts."

She smiled, glancing over at him. "I'm prepping you Daxter. You want to learn about you're friend's past and I have a feeling his is even worse. As I was saying, my parents disowned me. I know they thought it would get me to come back because they told me so when they came to visit. They wanted me to come home, they loved me and were scared because there were so many bad things out there."

Taryn pulled down a dead end street and slowed the car to a stop; she was no longer able to focus on both driving and her story. "They didn't realize that the bad things outside the city were coming inside. And neither did I. The day they came to visit was the day that the place I lived became known as Dead Town. My parents and younger brother left barely an hour before the attack. When the attack started they came back for me. I know because when I went back after a couple days of not finding them I found them at my house. At the front door in fact, but I had locked it before evacuating with the others."

Taryn startled when the silence of her story was broken with a sharp breath. She looked to Daxter to see large tears running down his cheeks while crying. She pushed back with a hand any stray tears she might have had herself before reaching over and scooping him up to hold. He cried against her shoulder as she stroked his back softly. His small hands gripped her neck as he hugged her. "I'm sorry…"

She whispered softly while stroking his back soothingly. "It's alright. It was a long time ago."

"That doesn't make it any better! It shouldn't have happened."

Taryn felt an uncontrolled shudder run up her body as tears that she had thought had run dry welled up. Her face wasn't flushed, nor any other signs of crying but the tears fell all the same. She looked down to the small back that she now held in a tight hug. There was something special about him, so very special. Taryn rubbed the side of her face against him smudging her tears into his fur. "Thank you… thank you for saying that."

* * *

Author Note: Thank you to Nicend, Ezj and Dilapidated for reviewing. I'm very glad you all enjoyed the chapter. To Ezj, I hope you do begin to write your own Jak and Daxter fanfic, it's tiring but a lot of fun to do. Also I want to thank you for the idea, I'm hoping to put it to good use in the future.

Please everyone keep reviewing to let me know you like the chapter, and give ideas for the future.


	12. To Atone

He was NOT a maid. Yet, here he was, brown dreadlocks flying in the wind as he raced his personal zoomer through the slums to the berserk dark warrior being reported on the radio. Jak was part of the Underground, anyone working for the Underground was Torn's responsibility the only one exception to that was the Shadow.

The zoomer was older then most of the new shiny models around but it had speed and tight turns which was all Torn needed for it. It also came equipped with saddlebags that kept any questionable items out of sight from the curious.

Torn's well placed hunch was that it was Jak running amuck but that made little sense as where there was Jak there was, undoubtedly, Daxter. The rat was supposed to be keeping the blond from going haywire and normally did a good job at it.

As Torn mused over what could have happened he spotted a civilian vehicle with a straight shouldered and alert woman at the wheel. Though she was undeniably attractive, it was the small fuzzy orange passenger that caught Torn's attention.

Torn slammed down the brakes while hitting the shift to get in a sharp turn before gunning the engine. He switched hover zones to bring his zoomer in front of the civilian car. He jumped out, leaving the ignition on as he landed on the front hood of the civilian car. Glaring down at the stunned ottsel he paid no mind to the woman in the driver seat. Torn easily broke the space between himself and Daxter in two strides.

"Torn? Wait! The hell you doing! Put me down!"

Torn grabbed Daxter by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him out of the passenger seat. Wordless he ran back over the hood and jumped back on the zoomer. He tossed Daxter into the zoomer's saddlebag and closed the lid as he switched hover zones to dodge under the cars and head toward Jak's last known coordinates.

"You are possibly the most irritating, self serving, loud mouthed rodent on this planet! If I find out Jak is having another one of his dark eco hissy fits because of a tiff between you two I'm going to beat one or both of you numbskulls black and blue!"

Daxter was yelling something that was inaudibly muffled by both the speed of the zoomer and the metal lid on the saddlebag. Torn glared at the saddlebag for a split second before flipping open the lid. Daxter gasped for air only to get a face full of wind. "Shit Torn! I thought I was going to die! Don't ever, EVER give me that dirty look again!"

Torn's teeth were grit tightly, a stressed vein pushed tightly at the side of his neck when he glared back at the ottsel. To Daxter's credit, he held the stare. "Yeah! That one, don't do that!"

Torn looked ahead as he pushed his zoomer for more speed. "I've been way to lenient on him. Stolen property, unauthorized attacks and worst of all civilian casualties. Jak goes all over the place like a rabid crocodog and I left it to you to keep him under control. That was a mistake that I'm going to fix right now."

They spun round a narrow corner, Torn was going the same reckless speed that Jak always would but his turns were tight and far more controlled. An explosion not to far off caused Daxter to flinch back in the saddlebag. He dared glance down to investigate the smell. Krimzon guards patrolled in groups, and that was how they were killed. It was grotesquely mesmerizing, the almost tidy piles of bodies and derbies. Four there, two here, zoomer debris and two bodies maybe a third, a hellcat over there.

"I'm going to sit you two down and make sure you both get what's coming to you. First…' Torn slowed the zoomer as they spotted Jak along with the sound of the vulcan fury. 'First I've got to establish just whose in charge here."

Daxter raised his brow as he studied Torn. "You? You're going to take on Jak? And, I assume you're expecting to live through that little endeavor?"

The grin Torn took on was a wicked one when he looked at Daxter. "Oh no. You see, I'm going to establish the hierarchy once we get back to base. You are going to get Jak to go there."

Daxter's eyes narrowed and he jumped up so he balanced on the rim of the saddlebag. "What? Are you crazy! You need your eyes checked tattoo wonder? Look at him, he's gone berserk-o-darko! He's killing everyone in sight!"

Torn nodded like he hadn't thought of that. "Yeah, wow I somehow failed to miss that one. GET YOUR SQUIRRELLY ASS OUT THERE!"

Torn reached out and knocked Daxter off the zoomer but before Daxter hit the concrete Torn had grabbed him again and took the brunt of the fall himself. He held Daxter by the scruff of his neck while reaching with his other hand to grab Daxter's back paw.

"Yowch! What the hell? You a masochist off his medication? First you push me off the zoomer, then you save me from landing, and then you pull my poor ankle!"

Rather then say anything Torn, put Daxter down. Not dropped, but placed. He then got back on his zoomer still with the hard sour face. "I'll be watching nearby."

Daxter cocked his head to the side ears tilted. He didn't know how to take that, was it actually possible that Torn cared? Daxter brushed off the thought as he got on all four and put tentative weight on his ankle. He flinched but moved forward at a hobbling pace.

"Acts all high and mighty. 'Your responsibility' yak, yak, yak, 'I'm all cool and in charge' blah, blah, blah. Yeah I'd like to show him a charge, a vulcan fury charge! Ha! That'd show him."

Daxter looked up through the smoke at Jak. He still did not know what he could do, but Jak's hair was blond at least so he should be reasonable enough. With a deep breath Daxter tried the first strategy that came to mind.

"Jak! What then hell are you doing! Don't make me limp over there!"

Gunfire stopped. The Krimzon guard who had been pinned behind a concrete slab ran at the break in fire deciding he was sure as hell not being paid enough to die. Jak spun around and Daxter flinched down, his belly and chin pressed to the cold concrete. Jak's eyes were black abyss, the souless hunter. He was also looking too high, looking for a human.

Daxter's ears dipped forward. Jak spotted him, Daxter flinched back down.

The air was very tense. Neither moved, though Daxter's eyes flitted over Jak's face at the running lines of pale skin, slowly receding, reverting to normal, but it was slow. Too slow.

Jak was moving forward, Daxter was hobbling backward, keeping his eyes unblinking from the predator watching him. Jak's stride's lengthened Daxter turned and, ankle be damned, he fled.

There was a howl behind him, he saw a fast shot of violet electricity screech by overhead and the narrow alley he'd been heading for exploded by the blast. Eyes wide in terror as he watched dark Jak sprinting toward him Daxter switched directions without even looking to try and out maneuver him.

He looked forward and had half a second to be surprised at the large metal lamppost in front of him before he ran head first into it.

For a split moment after the collision, as he stumbled like a drunk in the bright sun Daxter saw tiny dark Jaks circling his head, each one trying to chase down and claw the one in front of him. Daxter stumbled a little more before all the little dark Jaks disappeared with his vision going black.

* * *

It was a curse. He would be forced to save the city using complete morons that would test his patience at every turn. Torn stood tall over the two idiots in question, legs spread, hands placed firmly on hips he shook his head. Daxter was out cold from running around at full speed and taking on a lamppost. Jak was back to normal but was passed out from exhaustion. He was clinging Daxter tightly against him, though the entire world was ready to snatch his pet away. Torn leaned down and tried to pry the rodent out of Jak's grip, it was a difficult feat but once he did he went back to his zoomer and dropped the orange fuzzball into the saddlebag. He went back and slung Jak, though he was a large bag of flour, up and over front of the zoomer.

He got onto the zoomer, it was a tight squeeze and the zoomer was groaning under the combined muscle weight of both Torn and Jak. It flatly refused to go all the way up to the vehicle hover zone. Torn would have given the aging zoomer a good clunk over the controls but as it was now, Jak was sprawled out unconscious over them.

Torn decided he could deal with the zoomer being stubborn about the hover zones. It was an older model, donated to help the resistance. It was perfectly balanced when only one person rode it. He revved the engine to go forward but was forced to instantly lean back when the zoomer wanted to tip nose down, and flip them off.

It was going to be a long and painfully slow ride.

* * *

Author note; next chapter Torn versus Jak who will come out as alpha male in the pack? Will Daxter turn back to normal… again? When not even the author knows the world will just have to wait for the next chapter. Dundunduuunnn.

Thank you to OttselDaxter, ShadowChild Of Death, Aunt Rackie and Ezj for the reviews.

Ezj your comment made me laugh because I do the same thing when I'm reading a good story (chair bouncing and running around) but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. With the advice you gave, I'll try harder to be confident in my own ideas.

Aunt Rackie, no worries Jak and Dax will get back to being buddies soon. I think. And I'm so very glad you like how I characterized Vin. I think I'm also glad you think Jak is scary, so long as it's in character scary. I'd really like opinions on him since he's very difficult to write. The games didn't go into nearly enough detail explaining the difference between Jak and Dark Jak. Is it a case for multiple personalities, is it more like a person just getting a huge steroid dose? The only thing really established is that Jak sometimes has some control and other times he doesn't have any, so he says. (Lioness grabs forehead with a woozy expression before fainting with white flag, 'it hurts to try and figure it out on my own… help…')

Please be kind, save an author in distress and comment


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